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Texas electrical grid remains vulnerable to extreme weather events
New regulations, weatherization standards and operational changes have addressed many shortcomings, but some critical gaps persist.
Journal Article
Spotlight—Increasing Texas power bills: Blame costlier natural gas, rising fees
The cost of keeping the lights on in Texas homes has soared this year, as natural gas prices attained highs not seen since 2008.
Expiring solar tax credits shine a light on benefit inequities
The One Big Beautiful Bill Act, a broad package of federal spending and tax policies signed into law in July 2025, spells trouble for the residential solar industry.
Journal Article
Powering Up: The Surging Demand for Electricity
After years of stagnant growth, U.S. electricity demand recently surged. This increase was driven in part bythe commercial sector, particularly the rapid expansion of data centers and the adoption of artificialintelligence. The surge is expected to continue, signaling a shift toward a more electrified economy, withsignificant implications for economic competitiveness and energy infrastructure.
Journal Article
Harvesting the Wind: Oklahoma’s Strong Electricity Growth Has Few Agricultural Tradeoffs
This edition of Oklahoma Economist examines where electricity is generated within the state, its effect on agricultural land, and what may lie ahead.
Middle East geopolitical risk modestly affects inflation and inflation expectations
While hostilities between Iran and Israel ended quickly in June 2025 without a major oil supply disruption, it is worthwhile to explore the impact on inflation and inflation expectations if this geopolitical event had turned out differently.
Residential solar power shines on, backed by securitized lending
Residential solar is a small and rapidly expanding sector, and the securitization market—the packaging of loans to investors—has been one of the most popular sources of funding for new solar installations.
Journal Article
Strong peso, stubborn inflation cloud Mexico’s 2024 growth prospects
Mexican economic performance is likely to slow in 2024, with stubborn inflation, rising labor costs and a strong peso posing downside risks. Conversely, nearshoring and a larger-than-expected fiscal impact could bolster the Mexican outlook.
Renewable energy jobs surge, though data differ on where and by how much
Better understanding of the workforce implications of rising electricity demand, particularly at the state and local levels, is critical to planning and anticipating its economic and policy impacts.
Working Paper
Measuring the Spectrum of Occupational Emissions
Understanding how occupations differ in their exposure to emissions-intensive activities is fundamental for analyzing labor market risks amid changes in the energy mix. We develop new, data-driven measures of occupational emissions intensity that capture heterogeneity across and within industries. Our baseline Occupational Emissions Score (OES), along with wage- and concentration-adjusted variations (WOES and COES), highlights substantial differences in emissions exposure across the U.S. workforce. Applying these measures, we document several new facts: emissions are highly concentrated in a ...