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Journal Article
COVID-19 Fuels Sudden, Surging Demand for Suburban Housing
Business interruption and social distancing mandates because of COVID-19 have disrupted what had been a period of sustained growth within city centers nationally and in Texas. The pandemic-related actions have helped propel a sudden, large shift from renting to homeownership and a concurrent movement to the suburbs and larger homes.
Texas Economy Strongly Expands Despite Supply-Chain Disruptions, Hiring Challenges
There has been strong upward pressure on prices and wages, though there were some signs of abatement in July. The hot housing market continued to push up apartment rents, housing prices and construction.
Journal Article
Texas economy rides wave of changing technology and diffusion of know-how
Data on patents and employment show that Texas is a major center of innovation and high-tech employment.
Working Paper
The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Demand for Density: Evidence from the U.S. Housing Market
Cities are shaped by the strength of agglomeration and dispersion forces. We show that the COVID-19 pandemic has re-introduced disease transmission as a dispersion force in modern cities. We use detailed housing data to study the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the location demand for housing. We find that the pandemic has led to a greater decline in the demand for housing in neighborhoods with high population density. We further show that the reduced demand for density is partially driven by the diminished need of living close to jobs that are telework-compatible and the declining value ...
Recent growth of professional services jobs favors select Texas counties
Professional services jobs have grown faster in Texas than in the U.S. since 2020, partly because of business relocations to the state. This expansion has been highly geographically clustered, with 10 of Texas’ 254 counties accounting for more than 92 percent of the statewide growth.
Journal Article
Go Figure: Women Took Brunt of Pandemic Job Loss as Priorities Shifted to Home
Working women fared worse than men in the pandemic—a reversal from the Great Recession
Journal Article
Gentrification Transforming Neighborhoods in Big Texas Cities
As an influx of new, affluent residents has descended on gentrifying neighborhoods around the centers of Texas’ four largest cities, neighborhood amenities have improved. Meanwhile, increasing housing costs have led some low-income households and at-risk populations to locate in more suburban areas.
Working Paper
Conspicuous Consumption: Vehicle Purchases by Non-Prime Consumers
Consumers with higher income often spend more on luxury goods. As a result, lower-income consumers who seek to increase their perceived income and social status may be motivated to purchase conspicuous luxury goods. Lower-income consumers may also desire to emulate the visible consumption displayed by their wealthier peers. Using a unique vehicle financing dataset, we find that consumers with lower credit scores value vehicle brand prestige more than average consumers. The stronger preferences for prestige lead non-prime consumers to purchase more expensive vehicles than they otherwise would ...
Texas shows signs of slowing; price pressures ease despite buoyant services
Texas job growth slowed in June, though it still exceeded the U.S. rate. Meanwhile, the state economy continued to expand despite the downshift in employment and weakness in manufacturing.
Journal Article
Largest Texas Metros Lure Big-City, Coastal Migrants During Pandemic
Almost two years since the pandemic began, high-frequency data show that migration to Texas has accelerated, as the state’s four biggest metros experience an influx of migrants often from the nation’s largest metropolitan areas. The emergence of working from home has lessened both workers’ and some companies’ reliance on physical offices, clearing the way for the new wave of mobility.