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Journal Article
Go Figure: Vehicle Sales Highlight Surprising Resilience in Spending During Pandemic
Texas truck/SUV sales held steady while car sales declined steeply amid the recession caused by COVID-19.
Texas Economy Improves Despite Lagging Sectors as COVID-19 Cases Decline
Continued growth is projected for the rest of the year, but it may be somewhat restrained by the expiration of federal stimulus programs and election uncertainty.
Without Immigration, U.S. Economy Will Struggle to Grow
Slowing labor force growth is the product of a number of factors—the aging of the U.S. population, retiring baby boomers and declining birth rates. But another element is immigration.
Working Paper
Labor Market Effects of Worker- and Employer-Targeted Immigration Enforcement
Hiring someone who is not authorized to work in the United States is illegal, and employers who knowingly hire unauthorized immigrant workers may face civil and criminal penalties. The federal government uses a variety of actions, including worksite raids and paperwork audits, to enforce the prohibition on hiring unauthorized workers. Compliance costs and the possibility of becoming the target of an immigration enforcement action may affect U.S. businesses’ decisions about whom to hire as well as how many workers to employ and how much to pay them, but little previous research has studied ...
Texas Economy Soft in January, but Outlook Optimistic for Later in 2021
Regional economic conditions appeared to deteriorate in January after picking up at year-end, data show. Nonetheless, there is optimism regarding the outlook for growth later this year.
Journal Article
Federal COVID-19 Relief Aided Consumer Debt, Though Immigrant Texans Derived Less Benefit
U.S. and Texas residents shored up their household finances during the COVID-19 recession. The prevalence of various federal-level assistance programs helped boost savings and broadly reduce debt. Among mostly immigrant groups, this tendency was less pronounced, likely due to legal and socioeconomic barriers.
Journal Article
Go Figure: Assessing the Cost of Longer Border Wait Times
Wait times spiked in spring 2019 when Customs and Border Patrol resources were diverted away from border crossings.
Texas Economy Building Momentum to Start Year
Growth in the Texas economy picked up at year-end 2019 and accelerated into January and job gains in December were accompanied by service sector growth.
Journal Article
COVID-19 Poses Stubborn Challenge to Economic Growth in Mexico
Mexico, confronting a high rate of COVID-19 infection and an ineffectual medical response, recorded the largest decline in gross domestic product in a quarter century last year. While manufacturing trade with the U.S. provided economic support, the large and hard to reach off-the-books informal sector proved more troublesome and will play an important role in the nation’s performance in 2021.
Services, Construction Lead Texas as Manufacturing, Energy Soften
Sluggish growth in manufacturing is attributable to softening demand for durables, which appears tied to a slowing energy sector.