A comprehensive list of recently added postings on Dallasfed.org.
An Information-Based Theory of Monopsony Power
This paper develops a tractable model of monopsony power based on information frictions in job search.
May 13, 2025
U.S. tariff outcomes dependent on trading partner responses
In Depth: U.S. tariff policy has historically shifted among competing goals: providing revenue, protecting domestic markets and opening foreign markets to domestic producers. These goals are unlikely to be achieved simultaneously.
May 13, 2025
Relieving Financial Distress Increases Voter Turnout: Evidence from the Mortgage Market
Borrowers who refinanced mortgages between 2009 and 2012, a period marked by mortgage distress and dislocated housing markets, but also falling interest rates, were more likely to vote in the 2012 general election than similar borrowers who did not refinance. This paper exploits an eligibility cutoff in the Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP) to identify a causal relationship.
May 12, 2025
The Conventional Impulse Response Prior in VAR Models with Sign Restrictions
Some studies have expressed concern that the Gaussian-inverse Wishart-Haar prior typically employed in estimating sign-identified VAR models may be unintentionally informative about the implied prior for the structural impulse responses. This paper discusses how this prior may be reported and makes explicit what impulse response priors a number of recently published studies specified, allowing the readers to decide whether they are comfortable with this prior.
May 9, 2025
In Abilene, Big Country success depends on small-town community
Abilene anchors a 19-county rural region dubbed “The Big Country” by early pioneers. Collaboration was a consistent theme in Dallas Fed President Lorie Logan's conversations with community and business leaders during a recent trip to the area.
May 9, 2025
Waco building on ‘Fixer Upper,’ Baylor notoriety to reinvent itself
Malcolm Duncan, whose tenure as Waco mayor coincided with the city’s emergence as a destination and area economic hub, discusses how the city has changed and where its future fortunes and challenges lie.
May 9, 2025
Weekly Economic Index
The WEI is currently 2.50 percent, scaled to four-quarter GDP growth, for the week ended May 03 and 2.31 percent for April 26.
May 8, 2025
Dallas−Fort Worth Economic Indicators
The Dallas−Fort Worth economy expanded in March. Employment grew across most sectors, and average earnings picked up.
May 6, 2025
Austin Economic Indicators
Austin employment rose in March, paired with a stable unemployment rate, and wages increased. Suburban office vacancies increased in the first quarter, while downtown office vacancies declined.
May 6, 2025
Houston Economic Indicators
Houston’s labor market continued to expand moderately with employment increasing 2.2 percent in the first quarter. Unemployment remained stable in March. Despite strong employment data, leading indicators of local economic activity are signaling a potential slowing of the regional economy over the remainder of 2025.
May 2, 2025