u. s. virgin islands — and is the area the new york fed is responsible for. i spent yesterday and today meeting with district business leaders, community organizers, and elected officials, hearing about their work, their successes, and their challenges. people ’ s experiences are influenced by the macro level, but their local economy plays an equal, and often more important role in shaping their economic opportunity. one aspect of the fed that we don ’ t talk about enough is the work our regional economists and our outreach teams do, trying to understand what ’ s going on at the local level. while the u. s. economy has been growing for the last 10 years, analysis by new york fed economists shows that not everyone is feeling the benefits equally. growth is concentrated in the largest cities like new york and san francisco, and those who benefit the most are those who already have high incomes. 2 a large part of this is because current economic conditions favor highly skilled workers who tend to flock to cities. these big metropolitan areas are successful, but they also suffer from some of the starkest wage inequality in the country. by contrast, upstate new york is less unequal, but the disappearance of manufacturing jobs has held back growth. more equal wage growth is only good news if people have jobs. but many have found themselves in the position of leaving the area in which they grew up to look for work. the albany area has bucked this trend. the mix of colleges and universities specializing in innovative subjects like nanotechnology, and high - tech businesses, alongside its position as a state capital, has created a real economic success story. i know there are a lot of students in the room, and choosing suny was a wise move. investing in an education that equips you for the future will pay off over the long term. the tale of many economies so what can the fed do about this complex picture — the tale of many economies i ’ ve talked about today? 2 / 3 bis central bankers'speeches monetary policy is an important tool, but it alone cannot address all the economic issues that we face. the policies we enact at the fomc are vitally important for sustaining growth at the national level, but they can ’ t determine everything that happens at the local level. this is where our community development work comes in. through our research and outreach, we put data and analysis into the hands of community leaders to give them tools to strengthen their local economies. we have programs that use

some more significant changes in light of developments and lessons learned in recent years. and most importantly, it positions us for success in achieving our maximum employment and price stability goals in the future. 1 see board of governors of the federal reserve system, statement on longer - run goals and monetary policy strategy, as amended effective august 27, 2020. 2 longer - run forecasts of interest rates can be found in blue chip financial forecasts ( wolters kluwer ). for the decline these forecasts over this period, see the june 2012 and june 2020 issues. 3 see john c. williams, three questions on r - star, frbsf economic letter, 2017 – 05 ( february 21, 2017 ), for a discussion of the decline in the natural rate of interest. estimates of the natural rate for the united states, canada, the united kingdom, and the euro area are available at federal reserve bank of new york, measuring the natural rate of interest. 4 jerome h. powell, new economic challenges and the fed ’ s monetary policy review, speech at “ navigating the decade ahead : implications for monetary policy, ” an economic policy symposium sponsored by the federal reserve bank of kansas city, jackson hole, wyoming ( via webcast ) ( august 27, 2020 ). 5 richard h. clarida, the federal reserve ’ s new monetary policy framework : a robust evolution, speech at the peterson institute for international economics, washington, d. c. ( via webcast ) ( august 31, 2020 ). 2 / 2 bis central bankers'speeches