Q&A: Atlanata Fed’s Altig on Small Business’s Potential to Derail Recovery

In recent weeks, policy makers from President Barack Obama to Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke have been taking extraordinary measures to remove what they see as a serious impediment to the recovery: A dearth of credit for the small businesses that many economists say must play a leading role in creating new jobs. David Altig , head of research at the Atlanta Fed, has been in the front lines on the issue, polling small businesses in his region and parsing economic data to figure out what’s really happening. He spoke with Real Time Economics about the extent to which small businesses are in trouble, what banks have to do with it and why we should care. In 2009, the U.S. experienced the largest contraction in bank lending since 1942. That might not be a problem for big companies, which can…(read more)

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