As President-elect Donald Trump assembles his team of economic advisors, speculation has begun about how Northeast Ohio will fare under the new administration. The presence of a Federal Reserve Bank in Cleveland could give the city some input about those changes.
Cleveland joined the 12-member federal reserve system in 1914, when it was one of the country's largest cities. The continuing local presence of the Fed has always given Cleveland some influence in the U.S economy. Case Western Reserve University banking and finance professor William Mahnic expects that to continue.
"The Federal Reserve is the largest employer of economists in the world," he notes. "Policymakers that are going to be part of the Trump administration are going to be looking for direction, for advice, for ideas from the entire Fed network. Cleveland is going to be one of twelve cities in the United States that are going to have the opportunity to have direct input."
Mahnic also suggests that Ohio's influence as a red state in the election may yield some federal dollars for manufacturing assistance and as part of a proposed program to improve the country's infrastructure.
