Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta Economic Review
The Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta and the other eleven Reserve banks play an important part in all three of the Fed's functions--monetary policy, bank supervision and regulation, and the operation of a narionwide payments system

• The Evolution of the Check as a Means of Payment: A Historical Survey
  Economic Review, Vol. 93, No. 4, 2008. By Stephen Quinn and William Roberds. Despite their relative inefficiency, checks dominated the twentieth-century U.S. payment system. This article traces checks' thousand-year history, discussing how events created comparative advantages for checks that are only now being overcome by electronic payment methods.
• New Financing Trends in Latin America: An Overview of Selected Issues and Policy Challenges
  Economic Review, Vol. 93, No. 3, 2008. This article summarizes a 2007 conference that explored the nature and implications of major transformations in Latin American financial markets, such as the shift from cross-border to domestic financing and the development of domestic bond markets.
• The Final Frontier: The Integration of Banking and Commerce. Part 2: Risk and Return Using Efficient Portfolio Analysis
  Economic Review, Vol. 93, No. 2, 2008. By Alan K. Reichert, Larry D. Wall, and Hsin-Yu Liang. Using hypothetical portfolios created from historical data on industry profitability, the authors demonstrate that some combinations of banks with other industries could produce higher returns on equity with less risk.
• The Final Frontier: The Integration of Banking and Commerce. Part 1: The Likely Outcome of Eliminating the Barrier
  Economic Review, Vol. 93, No. 1, 2008. By Larry D. Wall, Alan K. Reichert, and Hsin-Yu Liang. Exploring the potential effects of removing the legal barriers between banks and commercial firms, this article surveys economic theory as well as experience in other developed countries and in U.S. nonbank conglomerates.
• Credit Derivatives, Macro Risks, and Systemic Risks
  Economic Review article by Tim Weithers. Drawing a distinction between market perceptions and formal definitions, the author examines macro drivers of credit. He then considers the possibilities of systemic risk, looking particularly at modeling and proper hedging, risk management, and valuation.
• Credit Derivatives and Risk Management
  Economic Review article by Michael S. Gibson. While credit derivatives have proved to be valuable risk-management tools, they also pose potential challenges, including counterparty credit risk, model risk, rating agency risk, and settlement risk.
• Credit Derivatives: An Overview
  Economic Review article by David Mengle. This paper examines the mechanics, risks, and market for credit default swaps, provides an overview of pricing and dealers' risk-management role, discusses credit derivatives' costs and benefits, and outlines some recent policy issues.
• Note from the Editor
  
• Smoking: Taxing Health and Social Security
  Economic Review article by Brian S. Armour and M. Melinda Pitts. Because they have shorter life expectancies, smokers incur a higher net marginal Social Security tax rate than nonsmokers. This higher tax rate could affect both labor supply behavior and the Social Security System's funding.
• When More Is Better: Assessing the Southeastern Economy with Lots of Data
  Economic Review article by Pedro Silos and Diego Vilan. The authors estimate a model that provides a single indicator for the southeastern economy, making it easier for policymakers and analysts to assess regional economic conditions and compare them to the broader economy.
• Financial Market Frictions
  Economic Review article by Ramon P. DeGennaro and Cesare Robotti. Market frictions, which exist even in efficient markets and change over time, impede trade but also offer profit opportunities. To provide a framework for understanding market frictions, the authors classify frictions into five categories.
• Safe and Sound Banking Twenty Years Later: What Was Proposed and What Has Been Adopted
  Economic Review article by Frederick T. Furlong and Simon H. Kwan. Analyzing the fundamental structural changes in the U.S. commercial banking industry since the 1980s, the author compares the 'transactions banking' business model practiced by large financial companies to the more traditional relationship-based banking business model.
• Safety, Soundness, and the Evolution of the U.S. Banking Industry
  Economic Review article by Robert DeYoung. Analyzing the fundamental structural changes in the U.S. commercial banking industry since the 1980s, the author compares the 'transactions banking' business model practiced by large financial companies to the more traditional relationship-based banking business model.
• Supervising Bank Safety and Soundness: Some Open Issues
  Economic Review article by Mark J. Flannery. The author focuses on seven underresearched and underappreciated issues that affect bank safety and soundness or financial system stability. Many of these issues are similar those that Benston et al. discussed in 1986.