Skip to main content

Federal Reserve Beige Book Starts Following Minority and Women-Owned Business Trends. Gabriel Philipp, Siena College.

On July 16th, the Federal Reserve released the summary of economic conditions, also known as the Beige Book. Reviewing economic activity in all twelve Federal Reserve districts, the report covers domestic economic activity for the month of June, 2025. There has been an increase in references to minority, and women-owned businesses within Reserve Bank evaluations of economic activity. 

Minority- and Women-Owned Businesses in the Beige Book: 

In my earlier reviews and evaluations of the Beige book, I found that the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis the only Federal Reserve bank consistently reporting on the performance of minority and women-owned businesses. June of 2025 was no exception, as Minneapolis continued its focus on economic activity in this sector. This month, the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland joined in highlighting this sector, briefly noting growing economic uncertainty among minority, women, and veteran-owned businesses, particularly with respect to their ability to keep and secure federal contracts in the future. It is my belief that this contracting access is crucial for their success, especially in an economic climate that often hinders the progress of minority and women-owned enterprises. With this insight being initially a reflection on minority and women-owned businesses, let me note my belief that all businesses will soon be affected in these concerns. 

Implications: 

Mentions of minority and women-owned firms in the Beige Book are still rare and the citations noted above are a recent development. Most Federal Reserve Banks do not specifically mention women and minority business activity in their summary of economic conditions. The Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis is the only one that does so on a consistent basis. Even these brief mentions carry significant implications. When a Federal Reserve bank other than Minneapolis highlights these firms, it signals that minority and women owned firms are having an impact on the broader economy and that the Fed is beginning to recognize their importance. We hope and believe this momentum will continue in the coming months, with more Federal Reserve Banks tracking and reporting on the economic condition of minority and women-owned businesses.


Labels:

Popular posts from this blog

Kamalanomics: Home and Health

Vice President Kamala Harris recently unveiled her economic plan, which builds upon and expands several initiatives from the Biden administration while adding new elements aimed at addressing economic challenges faced by American families. Her plan, dubbed the "Opportunity Economy" agenda, focuses on lowering costs for essential goods and services, particularly targeting housing, healthcare, and groceries. Key Components: 1. Housing: Harris proposes constructing three million new homes to address the housing supply crunch, which is more ambitious than Biden's two-million-home plan. She also advocates for a $40 billion "innovation fund" to encourage local governments to find solutions to housing shortages and make it harder for investment companies to buy up large numbers of rental properties, which has driven up rent prices. (See: Comments to the CalPERS Board of Administration, July 15, 2024 on Housing and Environmental Investing.) 2. Healthcare: Expanding on B...
Read more

Maternal Health Financing Facility for Black Women: A Solution to an Urgent Problem

Maternal mortality is a significant issue in the United States, with Black women disproportionately affected. Research conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has shown that Black women are more likely to die from pregnancy-related causes than their white counterparts. However, the issue is not new, and despite the increasing amount of data available, the disparities have remained unaddressed for far too long.  Creative Investment Research (CIR) is among the organizations that believe there is a solution to the problem. Through our proposed impact investing vehicle , the Maternal Health Financing Facility for Black Women (MHFFBW), we aim to tackle the mortality gap and support Black women during childbirth, which will, in turn, benefit their communities. The Facility, based on legally binding financing agreements containing terms and conditions that direct resources to individuals and institutions capable of addressing supply-side conditions at the heart...
Read more

William Michael Cunningham on Impact Investing, Blockchain, and Crowdfunding

September 2018 - 10 Questions William Michael Cunningham on Impact Investing, Blockchain, and Crowdfunding Interview by Carly Schulaka WHO: William Michael Cunningham WHAT: Economist, impact investing specialist, founder of Creative Investment Research WHAT'S ON HIS MIND: “Any finance professional in the U.S. should learn how to create a blockchain.” 1. You are an economist, an inventor, and an impact investing specialist. I’ve heard you say: “True innovation happens in a way that is independent of monetary returns.” How does this statement influence your work? It’s really about finding an interesting problem and applying financial technology to solving that problem or to dealing with that problem. You know, the people who invented the alphabet didn’t do so to make money. They had an interesting problem—communication on both a local and a grand scale—and if you were to calculate the social return for the invention of that technology or technique, it’s almost infinit...
Read more