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Item Economic Indicators of the College Station - Bryan MSA, February 2025(Private Enterprise Research Center, Texas A&M University, 2025-02-20) Bullock, Ashley; Jansen, Dennis W.; Sinha, Somali GhoshThe Business-Cycle Index increased 0.4% from November 2024 to December 2024. The local unemployment rate remained unchanged at 3.3% in December 2024 compared to November 2024. Local nonfarm employment increased by 0.3% from November 2024 to December 2024. Inflation-adjusted taxable sales increased by 0.2% from November 2024 to December 2024. The median sales price for single family homes in Brazos County saw a year over year increase of 9.9% since January 2024.Item Interview with Melissa Gentry; Can High School Counselors Help the Economics Pipeline?(Private Enterprise Research Center, Texas A&M University, 2025-02-20) Gentry, Melissa; Meer, Jonathan; Serra, DanilaIn the Winter 2025 issue of PERCspectives on Researh, PERC's M.J. Grove Scholar Melissa Gentry shares her experience working at the Boston Federal Reserve and researching disability economics. A summary of her paper, "Can High School Counselors Help the Economics Pipeline," discusses the outcomes of providing economics-focused workshops for high school counselors on admissions and student major choice.Item Can Tariffs Benefit Our Nation?(Private Enterprise Research Center, Texas A&M University, 2025-01-29) Glass, Amy J.When can adopting tariffs increase a country's welfare? In this policy paper, PERC Fellow Amy Glass discusses the conditions needed for a large country to achieve an optimum tariff, terms of trade, and changes in price due to tariffs. Trade war effects and shifts in production due to tariff avoidance are also discussed.Item Taxation in the Fifty States: A Comparative Analysis with Special Attention to Texas(Private Enterprise Research Center, Texas A&M University, 2025-01-29) Jansen, Dennis W.; Uddin, ThaminaTaxpayers in the US are subject to taxation at three levels: Federal, State, and Local. While federal taxes are imposed uniformly across all the states, state, municipal and sales taxes vary widely. Here, PERC's Montgomery Professor Dennis W. Jansen and PERC Graduate Student Thamina Uddin provide a comprehensive comparison of the taxation burden across the fifty states and the District of Columbia, focusing on the use and distribution of property, sales, and income taxes to Personal Income for the years 2013-2021.Item A Primer on Tariffs(Private Enterprise Research Center, Texas A&M University, 2025-01-29) Jansen, Dennis W.Tariffs are taxes explicitly on imported goods, either broad-based or product-specific, often used to manage trade, protect domestic industries, or as a negotiation tool in international relations. In this issue of PERCspectives on Policy, PERC's Montgomery Professor Dennis Jansen discusses the purpose and past U.S. history of tariffs, and their role in modern day trade policy.Item Economic Indicators of the College Station - Bryan MSA, January 2025(Private Enterprise Research Center, Texas A&M University, 2025-01-16) Bullock, Ashley; Jansen, Dennis W.; Sinha, Somali GhoshThe Business-Cycle Index decreased 0.2% from October 2024 to November 2024.1 The local unemployment rate increased to 3.3% in November 2024 compared to 3.2% in October. Local nonfarm employment increased by 0.04% from October 2024 to November 2024. Inflation-adjusted taxable sales decreased by 1% from October 2024 to November 2024. For 2023, the newly released Real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for the College Station-Bryan MSA grew at an annualized rate of 3.9%, more than both the state of Texas (at 3.8%) and the entire U.S.(at 2.3%) over the same period.Item Economic Indicators of the College Station - Bryan MSA, December 2024(Private Enterprise Research Center, Texas A&M University, 2024-12-12) Bullock, Ashley; Jansen, Dennis W.; Sinha, Somali GhoshThe Business-Cycle Index increased 0.4% from September 2024 to October 2024. The local unemployment rate remained steady at 3.2% in October 2024 compared to September 2024. Local nonfarm employment increased by 0.2% from September 2024 to October 2024. Inflation-adjusted taxable sales increased by 3.1% from September 2024 to October 2024. Among comparable college towns, the percentage of 20-24 aged residents was highest in the College Station-Bryan MSA at 17%. The College Station-Bryan MSA had the highest percentage of population growth at 1.3% among the selected college towns.Item Texas A&M University Impact on the Local Economy: Events of June 2024(Private Enterprise Research Center, Texas A&M University, 2024-12-09) Bullock, Ashley; Jansen, Dennis W.; Sinha, Somali GhoshJune 2024 was a landmark month for College Station and Bryan, marked by several high-profile events that drew significant crowds and boosted the local economy, including a Brazil vs. Mexico soccer friendly and a concert held by country music artist George Strait. This report evaluates the economic impact of these events on the College Station-Bryan economy by focusing on taxable sales, hotel room revenues and mixed beverage sales for the month of June 2024. Together, these two cities make over 90% of taxable sales in Brazos County. Gross ticket sales and net revenue for the Brazil vs. Mexico game and George Strait concert are also shared.Item Economic Indicators of the College Station - Bryan MSA, November 2024(Private Enterprise Research Center, Texas A&M University, 2024-11-21) Bullock, Ashley; Jansen, Dennis W.; Sinha, Somali GhoshThe Business-Cycle Index increased 0.2% from August 2024 to September 2024. The local unemployment rate remained steady at 3.2% in September 2024 compared to August 2024. Local nonfarm employment decreased by 0.1% from August 2024 to September 2024. Inflation-adjusted taxable sales decreased by 2% from August 2024 to September 2024. Cumulative inflation-adjusted Texas state tax revenues for fiscal year 2024 surpassed fiscal year 2019 by 12.6%. Tax revenues were actually 3.4% lower in fiscal year 2024 compared with fiscal year 2023.Item Economic Indicators of the College Station-Bryan MSA, October 2024(Private Enterprise Research Center, Texas A&M University, 2024-10-16) Bullock, Ashley; Jansen, Dennis W.; Sinha, Somali GhoshThe Business-Cycle Index increased 0.3% from July 2024 to August 2024. The local unemployment rate remained steady at 3.2% in August 2024 compared to July 2024. Local nonfarm employment increased by 0.1% from July 2024 to August 2024. Inflation-adjusted taxable sales decreased by 0.9% from July 2024 to August 2024. Texas A&M University 2024 Fall enrollment was 2.3% higher than in Fall 2023.Item Economic Indicators of the College Station-Bryan MSA, September 2024(Private Enterprise Research Center, Texas A&M University, 2024-09-19) Bullock, Ashley; Jansen, Dennis W.; Sinha, Somali GhoshThe Business-Cycle Index increased 0.5% from June 2024 to July 2024. The local unemployment rate remained steady at 3.2% in July 2024 compared to June 2024. Local nonfarm employment increased by 0.5% from June 2024 to July 2024. Inflation-adjusted taxable sales decreased by 0.3% from June 2024 to July 2024. Inflation-adjusted quarterly wages increased by 3.1% from the previous quarter. Poverty rates for college towns are overstated. Our Modified Poverty Measure for College Station Bryan, which excludes college students, was 12.3%, compared to the Official Poverty Measure of 21.6%.Item Federal Liabilities: 2024 Update(Private Enterprise Research Center, Texas A&M University, 2024-09-10) Jansen, Dennis W.; Rettenmaier, Andrew; Uddin, ThaminaThe 2023 Financial Report of the United States Government identifies total federal liabilities of $42.9 trillion as of September 30, 2023, marking a 10% increase from 2022. The federal debt and interest payable of $26.4 trillion comprised 62% of these liabilities. Federal employees’ accrued benefits make up another 33%, and various other categories round out the remainder. However, current official liabilities exclude current retirees’ expected Social Security and Medicare benefits – an additional $36.5 trillion in liabilities. Together, the official liabilities plus current retirees’ accrued Social Security and Medicare benefits total $79.4 trillion, or 290.4% of GDP in 2023. This highlights the substantial fiscal challenge, as the total liabilities are nearly three times the size of the publicly held debt’s share of GDP.Item U.S. Budget Woes(Private Enterprise Research Center, Texas A&M University, 2024-09-10) Jansen, Dennis W.; Sinha, Somali GhoshThe Congressional Budget Office's latest economic and budget projections from "An Update to the Budget and Economic Outlook: 2024 to 2034" are worrisome, to say the least. The CBO projects large and persistent federal government deficits through 2034, and with no end in sight. In the Fall 2024 issue of PERCspectives on Policy, Dennis Jansen and Somali Ghosh Sinha take a historical look at the debt held by the public as a percent of GDP from pre-World War II onwards, analyze how increased government spending during the Covid-19 pandemic differed from war-era deficits, and discuss the causes behind ever-increasing government outlays.Item Federal Liabilities: 2024 Update(Private Enterprise Research Center, Texas A&M University, 2024-09-10) Jansen, Dennis W.; Rettenmaier, Andrew; Uddin, ThaminaThe 2023 Financial Report of the United States Government identifies total federal liabilities of $42.9 trillion as of September 30, 2023, marking a 10% increase from 2022. The federal debt and interest payable of $26.4 trillion comprised 62% of these liabilities. Federal employees’ accrued benefits make up another 33%, and various other categories round out the remainder. However, current official liabilities exclude current retirees’ expected Social Security and Medicare benefits – an additional $36.5 trillion in liabilities. Together, the official liabilities plus current retirees’ accrued Social Security and Medicare benefits total $79.4 trillion, or 290.4% of GDP in 2023. This highlights the substantial fiscal challenge, as the total liabilities are nearly three times the size of the publicly held debt’s share of GDP.Item U.S. Budget Woes(Private Enterprise Research Center, Texas A&M University, 2024-09-10) Jansen, Dennis W.; Sinha, Somali GhoshThe Congressional Budget Office’s latest economic and budget projections from “An Update to the Budget and Economic Outlook: 2024 to 2034” are worrisome, to say the least. The CBO projects large and persistent federal government deficits through 2034, and with no end in sight. In the Fall 2024 issue of PERCspectives on Policy, Dennis Jansen and Somali Ghosh Sinha take a historical look at the debt held by the public as a percent of GDP from pre-World War II onwards, analyze how increased government spending during the Covid-19 pandemic differed from war-era deficits, and discuss the causes behind ever-increasing government outlays.Item Economic Indicators of the College Station-Bryan MSA, August 2024(Private Enterprise Research Center, Texas A&M University, 2024-08-15) Bullock, Ashley; Jansen, Dennis W.; Sinha, Somali GhoshThe Business-Cycle Index increased 0.08% from May 2024 to June 2024. The local unemployment rate for June 2024 was 3.2%, up from 3.1% in May. Local nonfarm employment increased by 0.5% from May to June 2024. Inflation-adjusted taxable sales increased by 1.9% from May 2024 to June 2024. Average real (inflation-adjusted) hourly earnings in College Station-Bryan in June 2024 were 8.2% lower than in February 2020. Nationwide, average real hourly earnings were 0.6% higher over this same period.Item Economic Indicators of the College Station-Bryan MSA, July 2024(Private Enterprise Research Center, Texas A&M University, 2024-07-17) Bullock, Ashley; Jansen, Dennis W.; Sinha, Somali GhoshThe Business-Cycle Index increased 0.3% from April 2024 to May 2024. The local unemployment rate for May 2024 was unchanged from the April value of 3.1%. Local nonfarm employment increased by 0.2% from April to May 2024. Inflation-adjusted taxable sales decreased by 3.2% from April 2024 to May 2024. Inflation-adjusted quarterly wage payments increased by 2.8% in the fourth quarter of 2023 compared to the previous quarter. Texas A&M had the highest total enrollment and engineering enrollment among selected MSAs that house large universities.Item Texas: The Exporting Powerhouse(Private Enterprise Research Center, Texas A&M University, 2024-06-20) Jansen, Dennis W.; Sinha, Somali GhoshAt $445 billion worth of goods and services, Texas was the largest exporter of all the U.S. states in 2023. Exports also made up 23% of Texas GDP the same year. This issue of PERCspectives on Policy compares the dollar value of exports for the top U.S. states, and takes a more comprehensive look at Texas' largest exporting industries.Item Interview with Maya Mikdash; Does (All) Police Violence Cause De-Policing?(Private Enterprise Research Center, Texas A&M University, 2024-06-19) Ashley BullockThe death of George Floyd spurred nationwide protests and the media storm that ensued placed police accountability and reform front-and-center in the American news cycle. In this issue of PERCspectives on Research, PERC's M.J. Grove Scholar Maya Mikdash is interviewed and her paper on the causes behind increases in criminal activity following incidents of police violence is discussed.Item Economic Indicators of the College Station-Bryan MSA, June 2024(Private Enterprise Research Center, Texas A&M University, 2024-06-21) Bullock, Ashley; Jansen, Dennis W.; Sinha, Somali GhoshThe Business-Cycle Index increased 0.3% from March 2024 to April 2024. The local unemployment rate for April 2024 was unchanged from March's value of 3.1%. Local nonfarm employment increased by 0.8% from March to April 2024. Inflation-adjusted taxable sales decreased by 3.6% from March 2024 to April 2024. Inflation-adjusted quarterly wage payments increased by 2.8% in the fourth quarter of 2023 compared to the previous quarter. Employment in the College Station-Bryan MSA was 12.6% higher by April 2024 than it was before the pandemic occurred.