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Category Archives: Data
Current Economic Situation: GDP, Income, and Inflation
I’m struck (again) by the fact that how you view the world is affected by your news sources. Last week, the Commerce Department released its advance estimate of second quarter 2021 gross domestic product (GDP). Whether you think the economy is experiencing “some of its strongest ever quarters of economic growth” or “could soon be on the verge of economic disaster” depends where you read the story. The numbers and press release from the Commerce Department are probably somewhere in between those two narratives. All the press agree… Read More →
Understanding Texas Taxes–New Pub
The Understanding Texas Taxes publication has been updated and is now available under Texas Taxes Publications as well as in the AgriLife Bookstore (free download). The publication is is designed to policy makers, staff, and Texas tax payers understand the state’s tax system. It discusses the most common criteria for evaluating the effects of major Texas taxes: economic efficiency – propensity to maintain (not distort) the allocation of consumers’ and firms’ choices among goods, services, and investments. economic competitiveness – a firm’s ability to compete with those outside… Read More →
Current Economic Situation, 3/7/2021
Texas Governor Greg Abbott marked Texas Independence Day March 2 by announcing the state would remove the statewide mask requirement and allow businesses to return to 100% occupancy on March 10. It is true that TX DSHS reports fewer COVID cases than earlier in 2021, but only about 1.8 percent of Texans are vaccinated. Removing the mask mandate has generated a fair amount of comment, while increasing the occupancy of businesses and other facilities has been far less controversial. The mask mandate is not really an economic issue,… Read More →
Current Economic Situation, COVID-19, 9/25/2020
Among the masks, social distancing, and uncertainty that have become part of the “new normal” attributed to COVID-19, mixed economic signs also seem to be the norm. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports employment claims that have fallen substantially from Spring 2020 levels. Unemployment has dropped to 8.6 percent as of September 24, from 10.2 percent as of August 20, just over half the May high of 17.1 percent. On the other hand, that is still almost double the 2009 unemployment rate and more than double the rate… Read More →
Current Economic Situation, COVID-19, 4/30/2020
Next week, May 3-9, is Hurricane Preparedness Week. Weather analysts expect this to be a bad year for hurricanes. It’s a bad year for a bad year. The coronavirus complicates evacuation and sheltering plans, and some experts believe the combined effects of COVID-19 and a hurricane would be immense. It seems somewhat strange to think about planning to evacuate the coast when we’ve been hunkered down at home for the past six weeks. On the other hand, I live further inland and can totally picture myself waiting out… Read More →
Current Economic Situation, COVID-19, 4/16/2020
This hasn’t been a good news week on most fronts. Keep reading for some bright spots at the end of this article. The U.S. Department of Labor released a glimmer of good news this morning, announcing Americans filed 5.2 million new unemployment claims the week ending April 11. That is down by 1.37 million from an adjusted 6.6 million the previous week. Still, more than 15 million Americans have filed for unemployment in the past few weeks. March unemployment should be released tomorrow, April 17. The IMF announced… Read More →
Rural Regions 2: The Regional Distribution of Doctors
The second research note in the Rural Regions series is posted to http://ruralcommunities.tamu.edu.This note focuses on the distribution of primary care physicians (PCP) Texas counties. Factors associated with fewer PCP per 100,000 people include greater rural land area, lack of broadband, and more workers who commute outside the county. Factors associated with increased PCP per 100,000 people are private insurance and the number of law offices per 100,000 people. Why? Read on. Rural Regions describes the regional nature of some important rural topics, including health care and food access…. Read More →
Rural Regions 1: A Look at Rural Hospital Closures
This month I’m launching a new research note series. Rural Regions describes the regional nature of some important rural topics, including health care and food access. Comments are welcome as these research notes relate to on ongoing research. The series will appear at http://ruralcommunities.tamu.edu. The purpose is not to advocate for the maintenance or closure of facilities, but to get a picture of factors affecting the presence of services in rural areas. The first note, A Look at Rural Hospital Closures, is available today and provides some context… Read More →
Rural Texas Poverty and Health Insurance Coverage
Yesterday I retweeted a Census Bureau infographic with national statistics on rural and urban poverty, income, health insurance coverage and housing. There are several positive messages in that data, including lower poverty rates for rural, lower rates of people living alone, and higher rates of children living in a married family households (being a single householder or the child of a single householder can be difficult). There were also some less pleasant statistics, including a larger share of rural residents without health insurance, a smaller share with a… Read More →
ERS releases 2016 Rural Development at a Glance
USDA ERS released its 2016 Rural Development at a Glance publication this month. As always, interesting points to ponder. This table with counties coded by dominant industry is interesting and shows the diversity of industry among Texas rural counties. We like to think of Texas as a fairly rural state, but Census data shows that only 15.3% of Texans live in rural areas v. 19.3% across the entire U.S. In fact, Texas ranks as the 36th most rural state by that measure (alternatively, the… Read More →