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Photo of Christopher L. Smith

Christopher L. Smith

Principal Economist Labor Markets Section Research and Statistics
[email protected]

Education

  • Ph.D., Economics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2008
  • B.S., Industrial and Labor Relations, Cornell University, 2003
Current Research Topics
  • Labor force participation
  • Migration
  • Principal Economist

    Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System

    2015 - present
  • Senior Economist

    Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System

    2013 - 2015
  • Economist

    Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System

    2008 - 2013
  • The Economics of Internal Migration: Advances and Policy Questions
    Ning Jia, Raven Molloy, Christopher Smith, and Abigail Wozniak
    Journal of Economic Literature (2023)
    https://doi.org/10.1257/jel.20211623
    See also » FRB Working Paper (2022)
  • "The Great Retirement Boom": The Pandemic-Era Surge in Retirements and Implications for Future Labor Force Participation
    Joshua Montes, Christopher Smith, and Juliana Dajon
    Finance and Economics Discussion Series (2022)
    https://doi.org/10.17016/FEDS.2022.081
  • Caregiving for children and parental labor force participation during the pandemic
    Joshua Montes, Christopher Smith, and Isabel Leigh
    FEDS Notes (2021)
    https://doi.org/10.17016/2380-7172.3013
  • Changing Stability in U.S. Employment Relationships: A Tale of Two Tails
    Raven Molloy, Christopher L. Smith, and Abigail Wozniak
    Finance and Economics Discussion Series (2020)
    https://doi.org/10.17016/FEDS.2020.017
  • Moving Out to Move Up: Who Leaves and Where Do They Go?
    Raven Molloy, A. Spencer Perry, and Christopher L. Smith
    Pathways (2019)
  • Job Changing and the Decline in Long-Distance Migration in the United States
    Raven Molloy, Christopher L. Smith, and Abigail Wozniak
    Demography (2017)
    https://doi.org/10.1007/s13524-017-0551-9
  • Understanding Declining Fluidity in the U.S. Labor Market
    Raven Molloy, Christopher L. Smith, Riccardo Trezzi, and Abigail Wozniak
    Brookings Papers on Economic Activity (2016)
    See also » FRB Working Paper (2016)
  • The Contribution of the Minimum Wage to US Wage Inequality over Three Decades: A Reassessment
    David H. Autor, Alan Manning, and Christopher L. Smith
    American Economic Journal: Applied Economics (2016)
    https://doi.org/10.1257/app.20140073
    See also » FRB Working Paper (2010)
  • The Effect of Labor Slack on Wages: Evidence from State-Level Relationships
    Christopher L. Smith
    FEDS Notes (2014)
    https://doi.org/10.17016/2380-7172.0021
  • Using Cross-State Variation to Assess the Potential for Additional Improvement in Measures of Labor Market Conditions
    Christopher L. Smith
    FEDS Notes (2014)
    https://doi.org/10.17016/2380-7172.0020
  • Labor Force Participation: Recent Developments and Future Prospects
    Stephanie Aaronson, Tomaz Cajner, Bruce Fallick, Felix Galbis-Reig, Christopher Smith, and William Wascher
    Brookings Papers on Economic Activity (2014)
    See also » FRB Working Paper (2014)
  • The Dynamics of Labor Market Polarization
    Christopher L. Smith
    Finance and Economics Discussion Series (2013)
    https://doi.org/10.17016/FEDS.2013.57
  • Declining Migration Within the US: The Role of the Labor Market
    Raven Molloy, Christopher L. Smith, and Abigail Wozniak
    Finance and Economics Discussion Series (2013)
    https://doi.org/10.17016/FEDS.2013.27
  • The Impact of Low-Skilled Immigration on the Youth Labor Market
    Christopher L. Smith
    Journal of Labor Economics (2012)
    https://doi.org/10.1086/662073
    See also » FRB Working Paper (2010)
  • Polarization, Immigration, Education: What's Behind the Dramatic Decline in Youth Employment?
    Christopher L. Smith
    Finance and Economics Discussion Series (2011)
    https://doi.org/10.17016/FEDS.2011.41
  • Internal Migration in the United States
    Raven Saks Molloy, Christopher L. Smith, and Abigail Wozniak
    Journal of Economic Perspectives (2011)
    https://doi.org/10.1257/jep.25.3.173
    See also » FRB Working Paper (2011)
Referee
  • Quarterly Journal of Economics
  • American Economic Journal: Applied Economics
  • Journal of Labor Economics
  • Labour Economics
  • Industrial and Labor Relations Review
  • Journal of Human Resources
  • Journal of Urban Economics
  • Economic Journal
  • Economics of Education Review
  • Regional Science and Urban Economics
  • Contemporary Economic Policy
  • Canadian Journal of Economics
  • Demography
  • Journal of Forecasting
  • Journal of Development Economics
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Last Update: September 14, 2023