Professor Mark J. Perry's Blog for Economics and Finance
The CD graph above was featured on CNBC's "Kudlow & Company" tonight, during the segment "Texas Economics" (starting about 0:45) featuring Texas Governor Rick Perry (no relation!) discussing the recession-proof Texas economy. Texas had the lowest unemployment rate in February (4.1%) since the 1970s (see chart below from this CD post), and cities like Dallas and Houston are booming!
Dr. Mark J. Perry is a professor of economics and finance in the School of Management at the Flint campus of the University of Michigan. Perry holds two graduate degrees in economics (M.A. and Ph.D.) from George Mason University near Washington, D.C. In addition, he holds an MBA degree in finance from the Curtis L. Carlson School of Management at the University of Minnesota. In addition to a faculty appointment at the University of Michigan-Flint, Perry is also a visiting scholar at The American Enterprise Institute in Washington, D.C.
4 Comments:
Goldilocks?
Texas has a higher employment-to-population ratio, meaning a larger share of the adult population is employed. This is due to differences both in Texas' demographic composition and a higher propensity of the Texas population to work. With regard to demographics, Texas has larger population shares of the age groups that are characterized by higher participation rates, such as prime-age individuals 25 to 54. At the same time, Texas has fewer older people—a portion of the population that is typically not employed. For example, in 2004, 25 percent of the adult civilian population in Texas was over the age of 54, while in the United States 28.5 percent was. Some of the differences in the labor force participation rates are also explained by the foreign-born share of the population. Texas has a greater percentage of foreign-born residents, and foreign-born men are characterized by higher labor force participation rates than U.S.-born men. Undocumented foreign-born men in particular have very high labor force participation rates.[1]
In addition to demographic differences, institutional differences help to explain higher labor force participation rates in Texas. Texas does not have a state income tax. It also has less generous safety net programs relative to the other large states. As a result, there are greater incentives in Texas to participate in the labor force than there are in many other states.
http://www.dallasfed.org/research/swe/2005/swe0506a.html
Goldilocks?
You bet!
"Texas does not have a state income tax. It also has less generous safety net programs relative to the other large states. As a result, there are greater incentives in Texas to participate in the labor force than there are in many other states"...
Its called, "just say no to parasitism,"...
Well, there's also an oil and gas boom going on here.
its the PRICE OF OIL, fer cryin' out loud! look at this chart of west texas crude:
crude oil price history
1980 crude peaks at$40 / unempl hits a low of 4.5%
1985 crude hits a low of $10 / unempl hits a high of 9%
1985-1999 oil stays low unempl stays high
1999 to now, oil surges to $100 / unempl drops to 4%
professor perry, if you want to prove YOUR point, please superimpose a line showing the level of taxes in houston over time with the unemployment rate.
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