Search Results
State and local governments rake in surpluses after pandemic
The existence of large sums in state and local government coffers runs counter to historic post-recession trends. State and local governments usually grapple with budget shortfalls due to rising social program demands and weak revenue streams following recessions.
Global Perspectives: Maya MacGuineas on Stabilizing the Federal Debt
A good measure of a nation’s ability to repay its obligations is the ratio of the stock of indebtedness to the flow of output produced in a given year. In recent years, this ratio has increased for the U.S. government, raising new questions about how the nation manages a debt burden that is approaching an all-time high.
Journal Article
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.
Global Perspectives: Mike Leavitt on Health Care Costs and Higher Education
The U.S. health care system is uniquely innovative, but it is also arguably uniquely inefficient. Health outcomes in the U.S.—whether measured in terms of simple metrics such as life expectancy or more sophisticated ones such as quality-adjusted life years—do not seem commensurate with health care expenditures.
Not Everything Is Bigger in Texas: The Varied Fortunes of Four Smaller Metros
While Texas’ major metropolitan areas power the bulk of the state’s commercial activity, some smaller metros have worked to establish their place as part of the state’s economic mosaic.
Anticipated Federal Restrictions Would Slow Permian Basin Production
Possible changes to leasing and permitting requirements governing federal lands could move oil production, prompting a realignment of Permian Basin activity between Texas and New Mexico.
Federal Reserve Banks of Atlanta and Dallas Conference Explored Housing, Urban Economics
Residential real estate prices rose sharply throughout the United States following the onset of COVID-19 in early 2020. While property owners received a capital gains windfall, first-time buyers and renters have struggled with reduced affordability.
Global Perspectives: Betsy Price on Being Fort Worth Mayor, Governing and Bipartisanship
Price and Dallas Fed President Rob Kaplan discussed her political career, the challenges she faced in office and the need for bipartisanship to get government business done.
Working Paper
Gas Guns and Governments: Financial Costs of Anti-ESG Policies
We study how regulation limiting ESG policies distorts financial market outcomes. In 2021 Texas enacted laws that prohibit municipalities from contracting with banks with certain ESG policies, leading to the exit of five of the largest municipal bond underwriters from the state. Issuers previously reliant on these underwriters face higher uncertainty and borrowing costs since the enactment of the laws. These effects are consistent with a deterioration in underwriter competition as issuers face fewer potential underwriters. Texas issuers will incur $300- $500 million in additional interest on ...
Global Perspectives: Ursula Burns on Coaching, Diversity and Advancing the Next Generation of Female Leaders
Burns and Dallas Fed President Rob Kaplan discussed her career, the importance of coaches and mentors, the case for quotas and advice for the next generation of female leaders.