Southwest Economy Archive

• April 9, 2021
  Dining out picks up in Texas, Houston
  The number of patrons dining at restaurants surged in Texas and Houston after the state thawed from a deep freeze in February and COVID-19 constraints on restaurants and bars were lifted March 10.
• April 9, 2021
  President’s perspective
  President Kaplan shares recent thoughts on the outlook for monetary policy, inflation and the importance of the vaccine rollout.
• December 21, 2020
  President’s Perspective
  President Kaplan shares recent thoughts on the the outlook for economic growth, appropriate Fed response to the resurgence of the virus and future of the energy industry.
• December 21, 2020
  COVID-19 Fuels Sudden, Surging Demand for Suburban Housing

  Laila Assanie and Yichen Su

  Pandemic-related actions have helped propel a sudden, large shift from renting to homeownership and a concurrent movement to the suburbs and larger homes.
• December 21, 2020
  Pandemic Unemployment Benefits Provided Much-Needed Fiscal Support

  Anil Kumar

  Enhanced unemployment insurance benefits implemented in response to the COVID-19 pandemic have helped buttress spending among the unemployed.
• December 21, 2020
  Energy Woes to Weigh on Houston Recovery, Local Economist Says
  Bill Gilmer, director of the Institute for Regional Forecasting at the University of Houston’s Bauer College of Business, assesses the effect of the energy industry problems on the Houston economy and provides an outlook for 2021.
• December 21, 2020
  Spotlight: Lower U.S. Crude Oil Production Decreases Output, Raises Price of Natural Gas

  Jesse Thompson and Camila Holm

  Natural gas futures plummeted to a historic low in June 2020 only to rebound by late October, mainly due to a decline in natural gas production from oil wells.
• December 21, 2020
  Go Figure: Loan Delinquencies Start to Climb After Falling with Stimulus and Relief

  Design: Olu Eseyin; Content: Wenhua Di and Carlee Crocker

  COVID-19 stimulus and loan relief helped Texas borrowers avoid falling behind on loan payments in 2020's second quarter.
• September 21, 2020
  President’s perspective
  President Kaplan shares recent thoughts on adopting average inflation targeting, additional fiscal policy and the importance of mask wearing.
• September 21, 2020
  COVID-19’s fiscal ills: busted Texas budgets, critical local choices

  Jason Saving

  COVID-19 and related economic shutdowns have raised concerns that state and local government revenues will fall short of expectations just as demand for services soars.