Southwest Economy Archive

• September 21, 2020
  Looking to economics for help in addressing enduring discrimination
  Gary A. Hoover holds a President’s Associates Presidential Professorship and is chairman of the Economics Department at the University of Oklahoma in Norman. He specializes in policy analysis of income distribution and poverty, public finance and ethics in economics. He is the founding editor of the Journal of Economics, Race and Policy.
• September 21, 2020
  Energy sector slow to recover from malaise arising from effects of global pandemic

  Emma Marshall and Pia Orrenius

  After absorbing a big hit from the COVID-19 pandemic, the energy sector may take until 2022 to recover.
• September 21, 2020
  Vehicle sales highlight surprising resilience in spending during pandemic

  Design: Olu Eseyin; Content: Christopher Slijk, Chloe N. Smith

  Texas truck/SUV sales held steady while car sales declined steeply amid the recession caused by COVID-19.
• September 21, 2020
  Snapshot: Texas employment estimate debuts

  Jesus Cañas, Keith R. Phillips and Carlee Crocker

  The Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas’ new Texas Weekly Employment Estimate (TWEE) is a timely tool to monitor evolving economic conditions while awaiting release of the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ establishment survey of employment.
• June 23, 2020
  Southwest Economy, Second Quarter 2020
  This issue looks at small business hardships with lenders and challenges banks face from the oil price collapse during the COVID-19 pandemic. It also includes a Spotlight on the spike in black unemployment rates, a Q&A with Janie Barrera, president and CEO of LiftFund, and an infographic on how COVID-19 has tanked U.S. fuel consumption and prices.
• June 23, 2020
  President’s perspective
  President Kaplan shares recent thoughts on the outlook for Fed policy, COVID-19 testing and negative interest rates.
• June 23, 2020
  Small business hardships highlight relationship with lenders in COVID-19 era

  Wenhua Di, Nathaniel Pattison and Chloe Smith

  The COVID-19 crisis has disrupted normal small business operations and will likely limit the ability of many enterprises to stay financially afloat.
• June 23, 2020
  COVID-19, oil price collapse dimming outlook for banks in 2020

  Amy Chapel and Kory Killgo

  Eleventh District banks face challenges from instability in the energy sector and economic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic.
• June 23, 2020
  LiftFund’s microlending helps small businesses battle to survive COVID-19
  Janie Barrera is the founding president and chief executive officer of San Antonio-based LiftFund. Created in 1994, LiftFund has one of the nation’s largest microlending portfolios. The nonprofit provides loans and management training to very small enterprises in Texas and seven other states.
• June 23, 2020
  Black workers at risk for 'last hired, first fired'

  Aquil Jones and Joseph Tracy

  In the U.S., black unemployment rates have spiked much more than white jobless rates during recessions. Additionally, black unemployment rates tend to more slowly recede.