Preface: Letter from Harvey Rosenblum
Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas
October 2005

The only constant is change itself. A Greek philosopher wrote those words more than two millennia ago, at a time when events probably didn’t move as rapidly as they do today. Accepting the inevitability of change still leaves us the task of understanding the often bewildering world around us. Most of us need help in deciphering the meaning of the changes we can see and identifying the changes we can’t see. That is the purpose of this collection of essays—to give our readers solid, useful perspectives that will assist in understanding the changing Texas economy.

The new century finds Texas in transition—no longer booming on high oil prices, finally rebounding from the late 1990s technology bust and still looking for the next economic driver. Our times are complex. Texas’ economy is being reshaped not only by what’s happening in the state and nation but also by a globalizing world, an important part of which lies just over the Rio Grande.

These essays explain the recent past, give a textured picture of the current landscape and offer a glimpse of what changes may be over the horizon. Our goal is straightforward: We want to promote a fuller understanding of Texas’ evolving economy, so the state’s citizens will be better equipped to take advantage of opportunities that lie ahead.

Index | Introduction>