Photo of Christopher J. Kurz

Christopher J. Kurz

Education

  • Ph.D., Economics, University of Michigan, 2005
  • M.A., Economics, University of Michigan, 2000
  • B.A., Economics, University of Texas - Austin, 1998
Current Research Topics
  • Nontraditional (big) Data and Economic Measurement
  • International Trade and Offshoring
  • Assistant Director

    Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System

    2024 - present
  • Assistant Director / Chief

    Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System

    2022 - 2024
  • Chief

    Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System

    2019 - 2022
  • Group Manager

    FRB Expanded Measurement Agenda

    2016 - 2019
  • Visiting Scholar

    Universitat Pompeu Fabra

    2016
  • Principal Economist

    Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System

    2012 - 2016
  • Adjunct Professor

    The Johns Hopkins University

    2013 - 2015
  • Visiting Scholar

    Elliott School of International Affairs, George Washington University

    2010
  • Adjunct Professor

    Johns Hopkins University - School of Advanced International Studies

    2006 - 2008
  • Economist

    Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System

    2005 - 2012
  • Payroll Employment at the Weekly Frequency
    Tomaz Cajner, Leland D. Crane, Ryan A. Decker, Adrian Hamins-Puertolas, and Christopher Kurz
    American Economic Review: Papers and Proceedings (2023)
    https://doi.org/10.1257/pandp.20231052
  • Business exit during the COVID-19 pandemic: Non-traditional measures in historical context
    Leland D. Crane, Ryan A. Decker, Aaron Flaaen, Adrian Hamins-Puertolas, and Christopher Kurz
    Journal of Macroeconomics (2022)
    https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmacro.2022.103419
    See also » FRB Working Paper (2021)
  • Lessons learned from the use of nontraditional data during COVID-19
    Tomaz Cajner, Laura J. Feiveson, Christopher J. Kurz, and Stacey Tevlin
    Recession Remedies (2022)
  • Blending data to understand the economic impact of COVID-19
    Scott A. Brave, Rebecca Hutchinson, Christopher J. Kurz, Michael Stepner, and Ron Jarmin
    Business Economics (2022)
    https://doi.org/10.1057/s11369-021-00250-3
  • Improving the Accuracy of Economic Measurement with Multiple Data Sources: The Case of Payroll Employment Data
    Tomaz Cajner, Leland D. Crane, Ryan A. Decker, Adrian Hamins-Puertolas, and Christopher Kurz
    National Bureau of Economic Research Studies in Income and Wealth (2022)
    See also » FRB Working Paper (2019)
  • Business Exit During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Non-Traditional Measures in Historical Context
    Leland D. Crane, Ryan A. Decker, Aaron Flaaen, Adrian Hamins-Puertolas, and Christopher Kurz
    Finance and Economics Discussion Series (2021)
    https://doi.org/10.17016/FEDS.2020.089r1
  • Tracking Labor Market Developments during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Preliminary Assessment
    Tomaz Cajner, Leland D. Crane, Ryan A. Decker, Adrian Hamins-Puertolas, and Christopher Kurz
    Finance and Economics Discussion Series (2020)
    https://doi.org/10.17016/FEDS.2020.030
  • Back to the Future: Backtesting Systemic Risk Measures during Historical Bank Runs and the Great Depression
    Christian Brownlees, Ben Chabot, Eric Ghysels, and Christopher Kurz
    Journal of Banking & Finance (2020)
    https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbankfin.2020.105736
  • The US Labor Market during the Beginning of the Pandemic Recession
    Tomaz Cajner, Leland D. Crane, Ryan A. Decker, John Grigsby, Adrian Hamins-Puertolas, Erik Hurst, Christopher Kurz, and Ahu Yildirmaz
    Brookings Papers on Economic Activity (2020)
    https://doi.org/10.1353/eca.2020.0005
  • Tracking the Labor Market with "Big Data"
    Tomaz Cajner, Leland D. Crane, Ryan A. Decker, Adrian Hamins-Puertolas, and Christopher Kurz
    FEDS Notes (2019)
    https://doi.org/10.17016/2380-7172.2441
  • Are Millennials Different?
    Christopher J. Kurz, Geng Li, and Daniel J. Vine
    Handbook of US Consumer Economics (2019)
    https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-813524-2.00008-1
    See also » FRB Working Paper (2018)
  • Using Payroll Processor Microdata to Measure Aggregate Labor Market Activity
    Tomaz Cajner, Leland Crane, Ryan Decker, Adrian Hamins-Puertolas, Christopher Kurz, and Tyler Radler
    Finance and Economics Discussion Series (2018)
    https://doi.org/10.17016/FEDS.2018.005
  • The Young and the Carless? The Demographics of New Vehicle Purchases
    Christopher Kurz, Geng Li, and Daniel Vine
    FEDS Notes (2016)
    https://doi.org/10.17016/2380-7172.1798
  • Annual Data on Investment and Capital Stocks
    Christopher J. Kurz and Norman J. Morin
    FEDS Notes (2016)
    https://doi.org/10.17016/2380-7172.1717
  • Importing, Exporting, and Firm-Level Employment Volatility
    Christopher Kurz and Mine Z. Senses
    Journal of International Economics (2016)
    https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jinteco.2015.08.003
    See also » FRB Working Paper (2013)
  • Who Drives Luxury Cars (Only for a While)?
    Christopher Johann Kurz and Geng Li
    FEDS Notes (2015)
    https://doi.org/10.17016/2380-7172.1536
  • How Does Student Loan Debt Affect Light Vehicle Purchases?
    Christopher Kurz and Geng Li
    FEDS Notes (2015)
    https://doi.org/10.17016/2380-7172.1482
  • Ricardian Trade and The Impact of Domestic Competition on Export Performance
    Matilde Bombardini, Christopher J. Kurz, and Peter M. Morrow
    Canadian Journal of Economics (2012)
    https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-5982.2012.01715.x
  • Offshoring Bias in U.S. Manufacturing
    Susan Houseman, Christopher Kurz, Paul Lengermann, and Benjamin Mandel
    Journal of Economic Perspectives (2011)
    https://doi.org/10.1257/jep.25.2.111
    See also » FRB Working Paper (2010)
  • Offshoring Bias in U.S. Manufacturing: Implications for Productivity and Value Added
    Susan Houseman, Christopher Kurz, Paul Lengermann, and Benjamin Mandel
    International Finance Discussion Papers (2010)
    https://doi.org/10.17016/IFDP.2010.1007
  • That's Where the Money was: Foreign Bias and English Investment Abroad, 1866-1907
    Benjamin R. Chabot and Christopher J. Kurz
    Economic Journal (2010)
    https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-0297.2009.02346.x
  • Trade, Production Sharing, and the International Transmission of Business Cycles
    Ariel Burstein, Christopher Kurz, and Linda Tesar
    Journal of Monetary Economics (2008)
    https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmoneco.2008.03.004
  • Outstanding Outsourcers: A Firm-and Plant-Level Analysis of Production Sharing
    Christopher Johann Kurz
    Finance and Economics Discussion Series (2006)
    https://doi.org/10.17016/FEDS.2006.04
  • On the Computational Complexity of Consumer Decision Rules
    A. Norman, A. Ahmed, J. Chou, A. Dalal, K. Fortson, M. Jindal, C. Kurz, H. Lee, K. Payne, R. Rando, K. Sheppard, E. Sublett, J. Sussman, and I. White
    Computational Economics (2004)
    https://doi.org/10.1023/B:CSEM.0000021676.64701.12
  • An Ordering Experiment
    A. Norman, M. Ahmed, J. Chou, K. Fortson, C. Kurz, H. Lee, L. Linden, K. Meythaler, R. Rando, K. Sheppard, N. Tantzen, I. White, and M. Ziegler
    Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization (2003)
    https://doi.org/10.1016/S0167-2681(02)00050-1
  • conference

    January 2013

    ASSA Meetings, San Diego

    Trading Plants and Volatility

  • seminar

    June 2012

    United States International Trade Commission

  • seminar

    May 2012

    Office of Tax Analysis, Department of the Treasury

  • conference

    March 2012

    Washington Area International Trade Symposium

  • conference

    November 2011

    Southeast Economics Meetings

  • seminar

    November 2011

    Center for Economic Studies, Census Bureau

  • conference

    November 2010

    CES Research Data Center Conference

  • conference

    July 2012

    World Congress of Economic History, Stellenbosch

    British Investment Trusts: The Precursors of Modern Structured Finance

  • conference

    August 2011

    Microeconomic Aspects of the Globalization of Inflation

    Offshoring Bias and U.S. Manufacturing: Implications for Productivity and Value Added

  • seminar

    December 2010

    George Washington University

  • conference

    July 2010

    NBER Summer Institute CRIW

  • conference

    November 2009

    Conference on Measurement Issues Arising from Globalization

    Simulating the Effects of Import Price Mismeasurement on Output and Productivity Measures

  • seminar

    June 2011

    Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System

    Using Census Microdata to Forecast U.S. Aggregate Productivity

  • conference

    October 2010

    Comparative Analysis of Enterprise Data

    Firm Heterogeneity and Ricardian Trade: The Impact of Domestic Competition on Export Performance

Awards
  • 2012

    Canadian Economics Association

    Harry Johnson Prize

Conference Organization
  • 2018 | Bank of England

    Modelling with Big Data and Machine Learning

    Conference Co-Organizer

  • 2011-2016 | George Washington University

    Washington Area International Trade Symposium

    Conference Co-Organizer

  • 2019 | Federal Reserve Board

    Nontraditional Data, Machine Learning, and Natural Language Processing in Macroeconomics

    Conference Co-Organizer

Referee
  • American Economic Review
  • American Economic Journal: Economic Policy/Macro
  • The B.E. Journal of Macroeconomics
  • Economic Journal
  • Eastern Economic Journal
  • European Economic Review
  • International Finance
  • Journal of Economics and Business
  • Journal of International Economics
  • Journal of International Money and Finance
  • The Journal of International Trade & Economic Development
  • The Review of Economics and Statistics
Professional Affiliation
  • NBER/CRIW member since 2016
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Last Update: March 18, 2024