Pia M. Orrenius
Assistant Vice President and Senior Economist
Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas

Pia Orrenius joined the Dallas Fed in 1999. As a labor economist and member of the regional group, she analyzes the regional economy, with special focus on the border region. Orrenius' research also focuses on the causes and consequences of Mexico–U.S. migration, unauthorized immigration and U.S. immigration policy. Orrenius spent the 2004–05 academic year as senior economist on the Council of Economic Advisers in the Executive Office of the President, Washington D.C., where she advised the Bush administration on labor, health and immigration issues.

Orrenius is affiliated with several academic institutions. She is a Tower Center Fellow at the Tower Center for Political Studies at Southern Methodist University and a Research Fellow at the IZA Institute of Labor in Bonn, Germany. Orrenius is also an adjunct professor at Baylor University (Dallas campus), where she teaches in the executive MBA program. She holds a PhD in economics from the University of California at Los Angeles and bachelor degrees in economics and Spanish from the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign.

Pia M. Orrenius
Assistant Vice President and Senior Economist
Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas

Employment

• Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas Research Department, 1999–present
• Adjunct Professor, Baylor University (Dallas campus), Executive MBA Program
• President's Council of Economic Advisers, 2004–05, Senior Economist

Academic Affiliations

• Visiting Scholar, American Enterprise Institute, Washington, D.C.
• Tower Center Fellow, Tower Center for Political Studies at Southern Methodist University
• Research Fellow, IZA Institute of Labor in Bonn, Germany
• Fellow, Transatlantic Forum on Migration and Integration, German Marshall Fund

Education

• University of California at Los Angeles
  PhD in economics, 1999
• University of Illinois, Urbana–Champaign, Illinois
  BA in economics, 1990 (magna cum laude)
  BA in Spanish, 1990

Editorial Boards

• International Migration Review, 2012–15
• IZA Journal of Migration, Associate Editor, 2012

Professional Service

• Member, Board of Trustees, Southern Economic Association, 2011–16
• Member, BLS Technical Advisory Committee, 2012–13
• Member, Committee on Survey Options for Estimating Unauthorized Crossings at the U.S.–Mexico Border, National Research Council, 2011–12
• Member, Committee on Estimating Costs of Immigration Enforcement in the Department of Justice, National Research Council, 2010–11

Journal Publications

• “How do Tougher Immigration Measures Impact Unauthorized Immigrants: Comment,” Demography, Forthcoming
• “Credible Immigration Policy Reform: A Response to Briggs,” with Madeline Zavodny, Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, Fall 2012
• “The Economics of U.S. Immigration Policy,” with Madeline Zavodny, Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, Fall 2012
• “Chinese Immigrants in the U.S. Labor Market: Effects of Post-Tiananmen Immigration Policy,” with Madeline Zavodny and Emily Kerr, International Migration Review, Summer 2012
• “The Economic Consequences of Amnesty for Unauthorized Immigrants,” with Madeline Zavodny, Cato Journal, Winter 2012
• “Do Remittances Boost Economic Development? Evidence from Mexican States,” with Madeline Zavodny, Jesus Cañas and Roberto Coronado, Law and Business Review of the Americas, Fall 2010.
  
• “Mexican Immigrant Employment Outcomes over the Business Cycle,” with Madeline Zavodny, American Economic Review Papers and Proceedings, May 2010
• “Do Immigrants Work in Riskier Jobs?” with Madeline Zavodny, Demography, August 2009
• “The Effects of Tougher Enforcement on the Job Prospects of Recent Latin American immigrants,” with Madeline Zavodny, Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, Spring 2009
  
• “Immigrants in the U.S. Economy: A Host-Country Perspective,” with Michael Nicholson, Journal of Business Strategies, Spring 2009
• “The Effect of Minimum Wages on Immigrants' Employment and Earnings,” with Madeline Zavodny, Industrial and Labor Relations Review, July 2008.
• “Does Immigration Affect Wages? A Look at Occupation-Level Evidence,” with Madeline Zavodny, Labour Economics, October 2007.
• “Crime on the U.S.–Mexico Border: The Effect of Undocumented Immigration and Border Enforcement,” with Roberto Coronado, Migraciones Internacionales, June 2007.
• “On the Determinants of Optimal Border Enforcement,” with Mark Guzman and Joe Haslag, Economic Theory, February 2007.
• “Self-Selection Among Undocumented Immigrants from Mexico,” with Madeline Zavodny, Journal of Development Economics, October 2005.
• “What are the Consequences of an Amnesty for Undocumented Immigrants?” with Madeline Zavodny, Georgetown Public Policy Review, Spring, 2004.
• “Do Amnesty Programs Reduce Undocumented Immigration? Evidence from IRCA,” with Madeline Zavodny, Demography, August 2003.

Books, Book Chapters and Reports

• “Immigrants in the U.S. Labor Market,” with Madeline Zavodny, Latin America Initiative Immigration Research Project Working Paper, Baker Institute, Rice University, 2013.
• “The Process of Unauthorized Crossing at the U.S.–Mexico Border,” with Fernando Riosmena, in Options for Estimating Illegal Entries at the U.S.-Mexico Border, National Research Council 2012.
• “Economic Effects of Migration: Receiving States,” with Madeline Zavodny, in The Oxford Handbook of The Politics of International Migration, Marc R. Rosenblum and Daniel J. Tichenor, eds., Oxford University Press, 2012.
• “Immigration and Growth,” with Madeline Zavodny, in The 4% Solution: Unleashing the Economic Growth America Needs, Brendan Miniter, ed., Crown Business, 2012.
• “Remittances as an Economic Development Engine,” with Madeline Zavodny, Jesus Cañas, and Roberto Coronado, in Migration and Remittances from Mexico: Trends, Impacts and New Challenges, Alfredo Cuecuecha and Carla Pederzini, eds., Lexington Books, 2012.
• “The Immigration Enforcement System,” with Susan Clarke and Marc Rosenblum, in Budgeting for Immigration Enforcement: A Path to Better Performance, Steven Redburn, Peter Reuter, and Malay Majmundar (eds.), National Research Council 2011.
• “The Minimum Wage and Latino Workers,” with Madeline Zavodny, in Latinos and the Economy: Integration and Impact in Schools, Labor Markets and Beyond, David Leal and Stephen Trejo, eds., Springer, 2011.
• Beside the Golden Door: U.S. Immigration Reform in a New Era of Globalization, with Madeline Zavodny, American Enterprise Institute, 2010.
• “Tied to the Business Cycle: How Immigrants Fare in Good and Bad Economic Times,” with Madeline Zavodny, Migration Policy Institute, 2009.
  
• “Differences between Mexican Migration to the U.S. Border and Interior: Evidence from Mexican Survey Data,” with Leslie Lukens and Madeline Zavodny, in Labor Market Issues Along the U.S.–Mexico Border, Marie T. Mora and Alberto Dávila, eds., University of Arizona Press, 2009.
• “U.S.–Mexico Remittances: Recent Trends and Measurement Issues,” with Jesus Cañas and Roberto Coronado, in Migration, Trade and Development: Conference Proceedings, James Hollifield, Pia Orrenius and Thomas Osang, eds., Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, 2007.
• “Border Crime and Border Enforcement,” with Roberto Coronado in Basic Border Econometrics, Martha Patricia Barraza de Anda and Thomas M. Fullerton Jr., eds.; Universidad Autonoma de Cd. Juarez, 2007.  
• “Mexico–U.S. Migration: Economic Effects and Policy Impacts,” in The Changing Structure of Mexico, Laura Randall, ed., M.E.Sharpe, 2006.
• “The Effect of U.S. Border Enforcement on the Crossing Behavior of Mexican Migrants,” in Crossing the Border: Research from the Mexican Migration Project, Jorge Durand and Douglas S. Massey, eds., Russell Sage Foundation, 2004.
  

Dallas Fed Publications

• “Limited English Skills, Relative Youth Contribute to Hispanic Poverty Rates,” with Yingda Bi and Madeline Zavodny, Southwest Economy, First Quarter 2012
• “Texas Employment: Gains Aren't Simply a Low-Wage Story,” with Yingda Bi, Southwest Economy, Fourth Quarter 2011
• “Immigrants’ Employment Outcomes over the Business Cycle,” with Madeline Zavodny, Staff Papers, September 2011
• “From Brawn to Brains: How Immigration Works for America,” with Madeline Zavodny, Annual Report of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, March 2011
• “Spotlight: Container Trade Thriving in Texas,” with Adam Swadley, Southwest Economy, Third Quarter, 2010.
  
• “Manning the Gates: Migration Policy in the Great Recession,” with Michael Nicholson, Economic Letter, June 2010.
• “Texas' Latino Pay Gaps: Taking a Closer Look,” with Emily Kerr and Madeline Zavodny, Southwest Economy, first quarter 2010.
• “Getting to the Bottom of Texas' Latino Pay Gap,” with Madeline Zavodny and Emily Kerr, Southwest Economy, fourth quarter 2009.
• “Spotlight: Unemployment Trends—Less-Educated Workers Hit Hard in Housing Bust,” with Michael Nicholson, Southwest Economy, Nov/Dec 2008.
• “Higher Minimum Wage Looms Large in Texas,” with Madeline Zavodny and Weihua Li, Southwest Economy, July/August 2008.
  
• “Mexican Migrants Stay in Border Comfort Zone,” with Madeline Zavodny, Southwest Economy, May/June 2008.
• “Explaining the Increase in Remittances to Mexico,” with Jesus Cañas and Roberto Coronado, Southwest Economy, July/August 2007.
• “Spotlight: Regional Labor Force Growth: Mix of Native, Immigrant Workers Varies,” with Michael Nicholson, Southwest Economy, July/August 2007.
• “TN Visas: A Stepping Stone Toward a NAFTA Labor Market,” with Daniel Streitfeld, Southwest Economy, November/December 2006.
• “Spotlight: North Texas—Income Dip May Reflect Decline in Education,” with Anna Berman, Southwest Economy, September/October 2006.
• “How Labor Market Policies Shape Immigrants' Opportunities,” with Genevieve Solomon, Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas Economic Letter, July 2006.
• “Two Views on How Texans Are Doing,” with Anna Berman, Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas Southwest Economy, May/June 2006.
• “A Conversation with Pia Orrenius: The Economics of Immigration,” Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas Southwest Economy, March/April 2006.
• “Opting Out of Work: What's Behind the Decline in Labor Force
  Participation?” with Helen McEwen and Mark Wynne, Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas Southwest Economy, November/December 2005.
• “Why Did Texas Have a Jobless Recovery?” with Jason Saving and Priscilla Caputo, in The Face of Texas, Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, October 2005.
• “Immigrant Assimilation: Is the U.S. Still a Melting Pot?” Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas Southwest Economy, May/June 2004.
• “U.S. Immigration and Economic Growth: Putting Policy on Hold,” Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas Southwest Economy, November/December 2003.
• “Falling Crime and Rising Border Enforcement: Is there a Connection?” with Roberto Coronado, Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas Southwest Economy, May/June 2003.
• “Growth on the Border or Bordering on Growth?” with Anna Berman, Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas Southwest Economy, May/June 2002.
• “Beating Border Barriers in U.S.–Mexico Trade,” with Keith Phillips and Benjamin Blackburn, Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas Southwest Economy, September/October 2001.
  
• “Illegal Immigration and Border Enforcement along the U.S.–Mexico Border: An Overview,” Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas Economic and Financial Review, First Quarter 2001.
• “The Second Great Migration: Economic and Policy Implications,” with Alan D. Viard, Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas Southwest Economy, May/June 2000.

Working Papers

• “Why Stop There? Mexican Migration to the U.S. Border Region,” with Madeline Zavodny and Leslie Lukens, Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas Working Paper 0803.
• “The Minimum Wage and Latino Workers,” with Madeline Zavodny, Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas Working Paper 0708.
• “Accounting for Fluctuations in Social Network Usage and Migration Dynamics,” with Mark Guzman and Joe Haslag.
• “Coordination, Sunspots and Endogenous Volatility: An Application to Illegal Immigration,” with Mark Guzman and Joe Haslag.
  
• “The Role of Family Networks, Coyote Prices and the Rural Economy in Migration from Western Mexico,” Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas Working Paper 99-10, November 1999.