Southwest Economy Podcast

Former Waco Mayor Malcolm Duncan describes the impact of the Fixer Upper phenomenon—and his early skepticism about the HGTV show's potential to raise the city's profile. Duncan and Dallas Fed economist Emily Kerr also discuss benefits reaped from Baylor University's growth and challenges faced in building a commercial hub squarely between Dallas–Fort Worth and Austin.

Taylor County Texas A&M AgriLife Extension agent Steve Estes discusses with Dallas Fed economist Laila Assanie the challenges of perpetually coping with little rain in the Big Country, where agriculture and ranching drive the area economy, including that of Abilene.

Ray Perryman, a Waco-based economist who's opined on the Texas economy for more than four decades, discusses his hits and misses as well as what lies ahead with Dallas Fed economist Pia Orrenius.

Enrique Dussel Peters, the coordinator of the Center for Chinese–Mexican Studies at the Universidad Nacional Autonóma de México, and Dallas Fed economist Jesus Cañas discuss challenges to the triangular trade relationship between the U.S., Mexico and China at a time of rising tensions.

William Serrata has been president of the El Paso County Community College District since August 2012 and has served on the board of directors for the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas's El Paso Branch since 2018. He is past chair of the Texas Association of Community Colleges, serves on the Business Advisory Committee and is a member of the Legislative Committee. He discusses the unique, postpandemic challenges community colleges face. 

Sheila Olmstead, a professor specializing in environmental policy at the Jeb E. Brooks School of Public Policy at Cornell University, discusses with Dallas Fed economist Pia Orrenius the competing demands for water in Texas and the challenges a growing economy poses.

The number of Texas cattle are at a multi-decade low at a time of strong demand and relatively high consumer prices. Dr. David Anderson, a Texas A&M University professor and extension economist, discusses with Dallas Fed economist Emily Kerr what's driving the market, making even hamburger pricey. 

Artificial intelligence, electric cars and power-hungry manufacturing are combining to boost power demand in Texas and nationwide. Dallas Fed economists Kunal Patel and Pia Orrenius examine what it will take to ensure that the lights stay on, and burgeoning user demand is met.

Investment, a large labor pool and proximity to the United States have helped propel Mexico's economic fortunes. Dallas Fed economists Sewon Hur and Pia Orrenius discuss how improving productivity could propel Mexico beyond the ranks of middle-income nations.

Closing the widening federal budget will require tough choices, possibly including new taxes and cuts to entitlement programs, such as Social Security and the Children's Health Insurance Program. American Enterprise Institute tax expert Alan Viard discusses some options with Dallas Fed economist Pia Orrenius.

Brownsville, long a quiet community in the largely agricultural Lower Rio Grande Valley, confronts a burst of activity from SpaceX launches to new port trade. Texas National Bank President Joe Quiroga, a lifelong area resident and Dallas Fed director, discusses the rapid change with Dallas Fed economist Pia Orrenius.

Dallas Fed economists Jesse Thompson and Pia Orrenius  discuss how the employment profile of Texas increasingly resembles the U.S., while the energy sector ensures that the state remains unique.

Economist Jeffrey Fuhrer, a nonresident fellow at the Brookings Institution and former Boston Fed director of research, discusses The Myth that Made Us, his new book about inequalities in the nation's economic system. He offers proposals to close the nation's wealth gap in a discussion with Dallas Fed economist Pia Orrenius.  

University of Chicago Booth School associate professor Michael Weber explains how audiences are most receptive to monetary policy messaging delivered by Fed officials whose ethnic or gender background is similar to theirs. The tendency is also generally observed in other communications contexts, he tells Dallas Fed economist Pia Orrenius. 

Ben Munyan, the Dallas Fed's Banking Supervision Department's director of supervisory policy, provides insights on lessons learned this year and discusses with Dallas Fed economist Pia Orrenius where Texas banks stand. 

Beni Lopez, chief executive of the Dallas-based U.S and Canada division of Softtek, outlines the Monterrey, Mexico, company's strategy in the competitive North American market.

Dallas Fed economist David Rapson says electric vehicles often supplement rather than replace existing fossil-fuel powered cars in part two of his discussion with host and Dallas Fed economist Pia Orrenius.

Dallas Fed economist David Rapson says there's more to the energy transition than switching to electric cars in part one of his discussion with host and Dallas Fed economist Pia Orrenius.

Former Banco de México chief economist Daniel Chiquiar discusses Mexico's postpandemic outlook and its susceptibility to a U.S. downturn in a discussion with Dallas Fed senior business economist  Jesus Cañas.

Senior economist Anil Kumar explores how greater labor availability in Texas—indicated by comparatively higher unemployment—spurs economic activity in an era of worker shortages across the country.

H-E-B President Craig Boyan discusses with Dallas Fed economist Pia Orrenius how the privately held grocer has tried to handle supply, price and labor challenges while continuing to expand in the state.

The era of shortages that began with the pandemic may be winding down, Dallas Fed economist Chris Slijk suggests in this discussion of pervasive supply disruptions with Dallas Fed economist Pia Orrenius.

Pol Antràs, the Robert G. Ory Professor of Economics at Harvard University, explains why despite frayed supply chains and geopolitical tensions, globalization remains a guiding principal for much of how world trade is conducted.

Houston, slow to escape pandemic-era doldrums, has charged ahead with strengthening energy markets. Dallas Fed senior business economist Jesse Thompson and senior economist Pia Orrenius discuss what lies ahead for Houston.

Trade may have hit a few bumps during the pandemic, but it retains the ability to help deal with some vexing problems. The Dallas Fed's Pia Orrenius discusses with Raymond Robertson of the Bush School of Government and Public Service at Texas A&M University how a revamped Central America–U.S. free trade agreement could slow the northward flow of migrants.

Enrollment dropped at colleges and universities in the U.S. and Texas as COVID-19 swept across the nation. Dallas Fed economists Wenhua Di and Pia Orrenius discuss the implications and the importance of getting back to normal.

Recent legalization of recreational marijuana in New Mexico opens up retail sales next door to Texas. University of New Mexico economist Sarah S. Stith discusses the economic gains and social and medical costs with the Dallas Fed's Pia Orrenius and Keighton Hines.

COVID-19 brought to the fore the world's dependence on semiconductors. Tyson Tuttle, who retired in January as CEO of Austin-based Silicon Labs and remains on its board, discusses the chip shortage and how the 2021 Texas freeze contributed to it. He also reflects on Austin's ascension as a technology hub.

Big metro areas on the coasts—especially those in California—have led a surge of migration to Texas since COVID-19's onset. Dallas Fed Senior Research Economist Yichen Su discusses what moves folks to come to Texas and how he used credit report data to document it. 

Texas community colleges are among the U.S. leaders in helping keep the workforce skills current, Opportunity America President Tamar Jacoby explains in a discussion with Dallas Fed Senior Economist Pia Orrenius.

Workplace change, once thought to take a decade or more, became reality during the COVID-19 economic dislocation, Tamar Jacoby, president of Opportunity America, tells Dallas Fed Senior Economist Pia Orrenius.

Legal immigrants, eligible to receive COVID-19 assistance, didn't seek help at a rate most others did. Senior research economist Wenhua Di discusses why that happened.

Petrochemicals, used in a range of goods and even foods, will remain tight into 2022 following last February's historic freeze, senior economist Jesse Thompson says.

Dallas Fed economists assess the nation’s largest exporting state after a pandemic-year slump hit Texas especially hard.

Senior business economist Emily Kerr describes how the Texas economy’s recovery is unlike any she has seen while monitoring state activity.

Research economist Yichen Su explains how the pandemic provided the impetus for the recent relocation from central cities to the suburbs and why some of the shift will likely persist.

Dallas Fed Senior Economist Anil Kumar discusses how Texas benefits from increased federal unemployment insurance and why the state misses out on realizing the full measure of Covid-19 jobs relief.

University of Oklahoma Economist Gary A. Hoover talks with Dallas Fed Senior Economist Pia Orrenius about underrepresentation of African Americans in economics and the challenges of discussing race, ethnicity and inequality in the classroom.

Dallas Fed senior economist Jason Saving discusses with Dallas Fed Senior Economist Keith R. Phillips how Texas’s budgetary response to the pandemic will differ from other states.

Dallas Fed Research Analyst Aquil Jones and Executive Vice President Joseph Tracy explain why Black workers became particularly vulnerable to the phenomenon of ‘last hired, first fired’ in the economic fallout from COVID-19.

Dallas Fed senior economist Wenhua Di assesses the plight of small businesses attempting to navigate  COVID-19 uncertainty.

Business economist Jesus Cañas discusses his work with colleagues at Banco de México that indicates higher production costs ahead for motor vehicles made in North America under the new United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement.

Business economist Jesse Thompson explains how shale oil firms shut down production as prices plummet and how operators have improved efficiency. The podcast occurred before the futures market’s sub-zero price collapse.

To commemorate Earth Day, the Southwest Economy Podcast brings back our interview with Katharine Hayhoe, an atmospheric scientist and professor at Texas Tech University in Lubbock, where she directs the Climate Science Center. She was a lead author of the Fourth National Climate Assessment, which documents the extent of climate change.

Dallas Fed economist Anil Kumar discusses federal tax law changes and the benefits Texas realized.

Economist Yichen Su describes how Texas’s biggest cities are experiencing a wave of gentrification and navigating the consequences of rapid redevelopment.