Southwest Economy Archive

• August 5, 2024
  Cattle ranchers have no beef with sizzling prices as consumers keep buying
  David Anderson, professor and extension economist with the Department of Agricultural Economics at Texas A&M University, discusses what’s driving cattle and beef prices from feedlots in the Texas Panhandle to supermarkets at a time when the size of the overall U.S. herd is at a more-than six-decade low.
• July 10, 2024
  Electricity providers hard pressed to keep up with growing tech-heavy demand
  Dallas Fed economist Kunal Patel discusses the strains on the power grid, including those arising from Texas’ growing population, electrification of the economy, nearshoring and evolving technologies.
• May 24, 2024
  Strong peso, stubborn inflation cloud Mexico’s 2024 growth prospects

  Jesus Cañas, Luis Torres and Diego Morales-Burnett

  Mexican economic performance is likely to slow in 2024, with stubborn inflation, rising labor costs and a strong peso posing downside risks. Conversely, nearshoring and a larger-than-expected fiscal impact could bolster the Mexican outlook.
• May 20, 2024
  Podcast: Lagging productivity gains restrain Mexico’s economic prospects
  Dallas Fed economists Sewon Hur and Pia Orrenius discuss how improving productivity could propel Mexico beyond the ranks of middle-income nations.
• May 13, 2024
  Addressing Texas grid reliability: Time to go nuclear?

  Garrett Golding, Emily Perlmeter and Prithvi Kalkunte

  Thirty years after Texas’ last nuclear plant opened, new nuclear generation could provide needed power without planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions.
• May 3, 2024
  Texas high tech shakes off post-pandemic slump, readies new growth path
  Texas is poised to lead in new advanced technologies, notably artificial intelligence (AI) and semiconductor manufacturing.
• April 16, 2024
  Mexico’s productivity woes limit nearshoring, growth potential

  Jesus Cañas, Sewon Hur and Braden Strackman

  Industrial policy reform, nearshoring and a deeper Mexico–U.S. partnership could provide tailwinds for Mexican economic growth. Whether Mexico can harness the full potential of such transformative change is less clear.
• April 15, 2024
  Federal deficit, tax inequities, entitlement programs vie for lawmakers’ attention
  Alan D. Viard, senior fellow emeritus at the American Enterprise Institute and former senior economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, discusses federal entitlements and tax policy challenges during an era of rising deficits.
• March 22, 2024
  Development bank funds border infrastructure to aid U.S.–Mexico trade
  Calixto Mateos, former managing director of the North American Development Bank, discusses his work at the NADBank and its role enhancing trade.
• February 2, 2024
  Hang your hat in Texas: State remains a leader in firm relocations

  Pia Orrenius, Ana Pranger, Madeline Zavodny and Oscar Parra

  Recently released data through 2019 show Texas remains a juggernaut, a leader for business relocations. And while figures covering the subsequent pandemic era and beyond are incomplete, anecdotal evidence suggests Texas remains a go-to spot.