JPMorgan Chase has launched a think tank that promises to deliver data-rich analysis that addresses big global economic challenges for the "public good".
Former global head of the McKinsey Center for Government Diana Farrell is leading the JPMorgan Chase Institute, which taps into the bank's "unprecedented" level of high-quality data to help policymakers and businesses make better decisions to advance global prosperity.
The think tank's first report - Weathering Volatility: Big Data on the Financial Ups and Downs of US Individuals - uses the bank's proprietary data for a look into how Americans' income and spending habits fluctuate on a yearly and monthly basis.
Future research plans include more analytic work on the financial behavior of individuals, insights on the small business sector and expert profiling of global trade and capital flows.
Jamie Dimon, chairman and CEO, JPMorgan Chase, says: "JPMorgan Chase has the data to help tackle the economic challenges we continue to face. That's why we set up the Institute - to analyse the data and produce insights that will help leaders in the public, private and nonprofit sectors make more informed choices."
The first report shows that 70% of Americans saw an annual change in income of at least five per cent between 2013 and 2014 and that more than a quarter experienced at least a 30% change. Spending was even more volatile: 84% experienced monthly changes of at least five per cent over the course of 2013 and 2014, while only one in six saw consistent spending.
Nearly three in four people experienced changes in income and spending that did not mirror each other. A third saw their annual spending changes positively exceed changes in their income. About four in ten saw their income changes positively exceed changes in their spending.
"Business leaders and policymakers should closely evaluate these trends when taking steps to advance global prosperity," says Farrell. "Potential solutions include analytical platforms that help people track their earning and spending patterns, policy interventions or new financial products to help people smooth income and spending or put these fluctuations to good use, for example, to help them save money."