Economics Group News
May 2013
Mika Laaksonen, MS Economics 1998, was named Conference USA Track & Field Coach of the Year after he lead the UTEP Miners men’s team to the 2013 CUSA Track & Field Championship in Houston on Sunday 12 May 20013. As a UTEP undergraduate, Coach Laaksonen was an NCAA Champion in two separate events for the Miners - the Hammer Throw and the Weight Throw. As a UTEP graduate student, his MS Economics thesis results were published in International Journal of Forecasting. He also worked as a Graduate Research Assistant for the Border Region Modeling Project and was named to the Beta Gamma Sigma honors fraternity for his academic achievements.
Richard Olsson, BBA Economics 2013, was a Silver Medalist in the javelin throw at the Conference USA Track & Field
Championship held in Houston on Sunday 12 May 20013. An honor roll student at UTEP, Richard is also a C-USA Commissioner’s Academic Medal holder. He will enroll in the UTEP MS Economics program this summer and still has one more year of eligibility for the Miners Track & Field team.
January 2013
The Border Region Modeling Project co-hosted the 8th Border Economic Forum on 16 January 2013 with the El Paso Branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas.
Speakers at the Forum included Dr. Diana Natalicio, UTEP; John Balliew, El Paso Water Utilities; Bob Hoy, Hoy Fox Automotive Group; Josh Hunt, Hunt
Companies & Mountain Star Sports Group; Jacob Cintron, Del Sol Medical Center; Jody Mullings, JPMorgan Chase Bank; Justin Chapman, Hunt Companies; Matt McElroy,
City of El Paso; Dr. Roberto Coronado, Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas; Dr. Tom Fullerton, UTEP. The electronic version of the presentations of each participant
are available here.
March 2013
Dr. Eugenio Alemán, Director & Senior Economist at Wells Fargo Securities, presented a seminar entitled “Prospects for the U.S. Economy and Lingering Fiscal Issues” on
11 March 2013 to the Department of Economics & Finance. F
December 2012
Pedro Niño successfully defended his MS Economics Thesis. His research examines the cross-border impacts of crime in Ciudad Juárez on the El Paso economy.
Members of his advisory committee included Roberto Coronado of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, Charles Bohmer of the Department of Political Science, and
Tom Fullerton of the Department of Economics & Finance. Mr. Niño is an Economics Instructor at Anamarc College in El Paso.
September 2012
On September 20th, Dr. Pia Orrenius of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas presented a research seminar at the College of Business Administration. Her topic
was “Did Operation Streamline Slow Illegal Immigration?” One of the co-authors of the study is UTEP MS Economics Alumnus Jesús Cañas, also an Eoconomist with
the Research Department of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas.
On 26 September, the UTEP Department of Economics & Finance, in conjunction with the Border Region Modeling Project and the Center for the Study of
Western Hemispheric Trade, will host a session of the 22nd Annual Mexico Colloquium on Mathematical Economics & Econometrics. The UTEP session will
include presentations from faculty members from both UTEP and New Mexico State University. It will be simulcast to the electronic conference rooms at
Universidad Autónoma de Ciudad Juárez, the sponsor of this year’s conference.
Teodulo Soto successfully defended his MS Economics Thesis. His research examines the impacts of oil price shocks on the metropolitan economies of
El Paso and Ciudad Juarez. Members of his committee included Tom Fullerton and Doyle Smith of the Department of Economics & Finance and Gaspar Genna of
the Department of Political Science. Formerly an Associate Economist with UTEP Border Region Modeling Project, Mr. Soto is a Corporate Economist in the
planning department of El Paso Electric Company.
Border Region Modeling Project releases latest Mexico Consensus Economic Forecast.
May 2012
Carlos R. Morales successfully defended his thesis project in May. His research investigated the impacts of
educational attainment and public infrastructure investment on regional income performance in Missouri. His thesis committee
included Tom Fullerton and Doyle Smith from the Department of Economics & Finance, and Dennis Bixler-Marquez from the Department
of Chicano Studies. Carlos will relocate to Western Michigan University in August in order to begin a doctoral program in
the area of applied economics.
April 2012
Francisco J. Pallares successfully defended his thesis project in April. His research investigated price differences between online pharmacy brand
name medicines sold in the United States and Mexico. His thesis committee included Tom Fullerton and Nathan Ashby from the Department of Economics & Finance,
and Tony Payan from the Department of Political Science. Francisco will relocate to New Mexico State University in August in order to begin a doctoral
program in the area of economic development.
January 2012
Border Region Modeling Project Releases New Borderplex Outlook Report.
December 2011
Azucena Gonzalez accepted a position as an Economic Analyst in the Market Research Department at GECU in El Paso. Azucena also holds a part-time position as an Economics Lecturer at El Paso Community College.
November 2011
Adam G. Walke successfully defended his MS Economics thesis project in November. His research utilized three-staged least squares and linear transfer function methods to quantify the impacts of cross-border business cycle fluctuations on mass transit demand in three Texas metropolitan economies. His thesis committee included Tom Fullerton and Doyle Smith from the Department of Economics & Finance, and Sal Hernandez from the Department of Civil Engineering. Adam accepted a position as an Associate Economist with the Border Region Modeling Project and resides in El Paso.
October 2011
Mary De Leon, MS Economics 2007, has accepted a postion as an Economist with Moody's Economy.com in West Chester, PA. Moody's Economy.com is one of the
leading economic forecasting and consulting firms in the world. Prior positions Mary has held include Assistant Economist with El Paso Metropolitan Planning
Organization and Associate Economist with Greater Houston Partnership. Her research has been published in International Journal of Transport Economics and Applied
Economics & International Development.
September 2011
Carolina Cerda successfully defended her thesis in August. Her research examines the effects of gender on
inequality aversion and altruism. Her committee members included Jim Holcomb and Nathan Ashby from the Department of
Economics & Finance, and Peeter Kirs from the Department of Information & Decision Sciences.
August 2011
Raul Anton Munoz, MS Economics 2010, has accepted a position as a Labor Market Analyst with the El Paso office of Upper Rio
Grande Workforce Solutions.
July 2011
Azucena Gonzalez Monzon successfuly defended her MS Economics thesis project in July. Her research utilized error correction, cointegration, vector autoregression, and vector error correction
time series methods to quantify the linkages between public infrastructure investment and economic growth in El Paso. Linear
programming analysis was utilized to estimate initial physical infrastructure stocks at the beginning of the sample period. Her
thesis committee included Tom Fullerton and Jim Holcomb from the Department of Economics & Finance, and Joe Guthrie from the
Department of Mathematical Sciences. Azucena will relocate to the University of Delaware in August in order to complete her
doctoral studies in Economics.
June 2011
Tom Fullerton received an applied econometric research award from Universidad Autonoma de Nuevo Leon. The $400 cash award was for empirical analyses of maquiladora payroll dynamics in northern Mexico.
May 2011
Enedina Licerio received the MS Economics Outstanding Thesis Award at the Spring 2011 Honors Convocation.
Emmanuel Villalobos received the MS Economics Outstanding Student Award at the Spring 2011 Honors Convocation.
Tom Fullerton has been appointed by the El Paso City Council to a two-year term on the Border Relations Committee.
April 2011
Mario Elizalde successfuly defended his MS Economics thesis project in April. His research utilized a cointegration time series framework to examine
gasoline consumption patterns in Mexico. His thesis committee included Tom Fullerton and Doyle Smith from the Department of Economics & Finance, and Soheil Nazarian
from the Department of Civil Engineering. Mario currently works as a Research Associate at the UTEP Center for Institutional Evaluation Research and Planning.
Teodulo Soto, MS Economics student, has accepted a position as an Economist with the Corporate Planning Department at El Paso Electric Company. Teodulo
previously worked as an Associate Economist with the UTEP Border Region Modeling Project.
David Macias, MS Economics student, has accpeted a position as an Economist with the Energy Trading Department at El Paso Electric Company. David previously
worked as a Customs Broker with Melek in El Paso.
February 2011
Katherine White successfuly defended her MS Economics thesis project in February. Her research utilized an error correction framework to examine water
consumption patterns in Halifax, Canada. Her thesis committee included Tom Fullerton and Jim Holcomb from the Department of Economics & Finance, and Gary Braun
from the Department of Accounting.
January 2011
David Juarez successfuly defended his MS Economics thesis project in January. His research utilized an error correction framework to
examine residential electricity consumption in Seattle. His thesis committee included Tom Fullerton and Doyle Smith from the
Department of Economics & Finance, and Joe Guthrie from the Department of Mathematical Sciences.
October 2010
Dr. Tom Fullerton named to Editorial Board of Applied Econometrics & International Development.
July 2010
David Juarez has accepted a position as a Compliance Consultant with Wells Fargo Bank in El Paso.
David is in the process of completing his MS Economics thesis on metropolitan area residential electricity consumption.
Raul Munoz successfully defended his MS Economics thesis. A Graduate TA and former James Foundation Scholar, Mr. Munoz
thesis topic is "Premium and Discount Exchange Rates for Retail Sector Peso Purchases in El Paso."
Jacky S. Charles, MS 2010, has accepted a position as an Economist with the Ministry of Finance & Economic Affairs in St. Lucia.
June 2010
Deborah Martinez was selected to the All-Conference USA Women's Golf Team for the third consecutive year. A Senior
Economics major, Deborah finished among the top 3 UTEP players in scoring average for a fourth consecutive year. Her scoring
average was sub-80 every season she played for the lady Miners and dropped each year, reaching 76.9 in her final sojourn as an
NCAA collegiate golfer. An honor roll student at UTEP, Deborah was also been named to the C-USA Commissioner's Academic Honor
Roll during her first three seasons as a Lady Miner and was twice named to the C-USA Women's Golf All-Academic during her
Sophomore and Junior years. With her classroom performance this past year, more academic accolades are likely. Deborah is
scheduled to enroll in the UTEP MS Economics program during the Summer 2010 session.
May 2010
Enedina Licerio successfully defended her MS Economics thesis on international regulatory burden income impacts. Enedina also
accepted a position as an Economist with the Load Research Department at El Paso Electric Company.
Emmanuel Villalobos successfully defended his MS Economics thesis on housing attribute preferences in El Paso. Emmanuel is an
Energy Trader with El Paso Electric Company.
April 2010
Jacky Charles successfully defended her MS Economics thesis. The subject of her research was an error
correction analysis of tourism flows to the Bahamas.
Emmanuel Villalobos, MS Economics student, has accepted a position as an Energy Trader with El Paso
Electric Company.
January 2010
Teodulo Soto, David Juarez, and David Rodriguez have been named James Foundation Scholars for the 2009/2010 academic year.
November 2009
Mark Freeman, a graduate student in the MS Economics program, has been selected for a prestigious international economics intenship with the USDA Foreign Agriculture Service in the Dominican Republic for the Spring 2010 semester.
October 2009
David A. Schauer was named Principal Investigator for a research project to investigate the El Paso Regional Growth Management Plan. This technical study is funded by the City of El Paso and Scientific Applications International Corporation (SAIC).
Nathan Ashby has been named to a two-year term as a Western Hemispheric Trade Professor by the UTEP College of Business Administration.
Doyle Smith, Tom Fullerton, and Sergio Contreras received the Best Paper Award for Economics & Finance Research at the 51st Annual Mountain Plains Management Conference held in Grand Junction, Colorado. Their study examines regional patterns in commercial electricity consumption in the United States.
Nathan Ashby was awarded a $10,500 grant from the Charles G. Koch Foundation for a new honors course and lecture series for the Spring 2010 semester. The course will be titled “Institutions and Economic Development” and is listed as ECON 4330. All interested students must turn in an application, essay, and letter of recommendation. Qualifying students will be recognized as Koch Scholars and receive $300 stipends. The deadline to apply is 30 October 2009. Applications are available in Room 236 of the College of Business Administration.
Nathan Ashby was awarded a $10,745 grant from the Fraser Institute to manage the Economic Freedom of North America project.
September 2009
Tom Fullerton was invited by the Department of Economics at Texas A&M University to present “Peso Acceptance Patterns in El Paso,” at the Hispanic & African American Economic Issues Conference in College Station, Texas.
August 2009
Tom Fullerton presented “Precisión de Pronósticos Econométricos de Consumo Municipal de Agua en la Región Fronteriza” as part of the Foro de Resultados de Investigación Conference at Universidad Autónoma de Ciudad Juárez.
Angel Molina presented “Municipal Water Forecast Accuracy” at the Joint Statistical Meetings sponsored by the American Statistical Association in Washington, DC.
July 2009
Tom Fullerton presented “Restaurant Price and Exchange Rate Interactions” at the 84th Western Economic International Association Conference in Vancouver, British Columbia.
May 2009
Nathan Ashby presented “Economic Freedom and Entrepreneurship in North America” at the Kauffman Hispanic Entrepreneurship Conference held at UTEP.
Tom Fullerton presented “Peso Acceptance Patterns in El Paso” at the Kauffman Hispanic Entrepreneurship Conference held at UTEP.
April 2009
Nathan Ashby presented “Freedom and International Migration” at the Association of Private Enterprise Education in Guatemala City, Guatemala.
Nathan Ashby presented “Economic Freedom in the Mexican States” to students at the University of Texas-Pan American in McAllen, Texas.
Tom Fullerton presented “Empirical Evidence regarding International Bridge Tolls” as part of the New Mexico State University Department of Economics & International Business Seminar Series in Las Cruces, New Mexico.
February 2009
Nathan Ashby presented “NAFTA: Balancing Security and Trade” at the National Center for Border Security and Immigration symposium hosted by UTEP.
Nathan Ashby was awarded a $3,635 University Research Institute Grant for work on economic freedom in the Mexican states
December 2008
Tim Roth concluded a 24-month speaking tour of Texas during which he addressed 43 civic and other organizations in El Paso, Austin, Borger, Dallas, Houston, Kerrville, Midland, New Braunfels, Odessa, San Antonio, Tyler, and Weatherford. Topics covered included several public policy themes, including constitutional issues involving Federal government overreach.
November 2009
Tim Roth, recipient of the University’s 2005 Faculty Achievement Award for Research, continued to make guest speaking appearances related to the award. In his nominating letter, Nobel prize winning Economist James M. Buchanan said that “Roth is doing some of the most interesting, and ultimately most important, work being done in economics at this time.” Professor Buchanan has favorably reviewed a number of Dr. Roth’s books. His review of Dr. Roth’s 2007 book, Morality, Political Economy and American Constitutionalism stated, among other things, that “This book should be required reading for any aspirant to public office, whether executive, legislative, or judicial.” Dr. Roth’s eleventh book, Politicians, Economists and the Supreme Court at Work: The Founders Betrayed will be published in 2010 by Edward Elgar Publishing.
David A. Schauer was named Principal Investigator for a research project to investigate The Economic Impact of Museums and Cultural Activities in El Paso, Texas. This technical study is funded by the City of El Paso and Americans for the Arts.
Tom Fullerton presented “Borderplex Recessionary Prospects” at the Del Sol Medical Center Senior Management Retreat in El Paso.
Nathan Ashby presented “Freedom and International Migration” at the Southern Economic Association Conference in Washington, DC.
Nathan Ashby presented “Economic Freedom in the United Mexican States” at the Coloquio Internacional de Desarrollo Económico y Globalización held at Universidad Autónoma de Ciudad Juárez.
October 2008
Tom Fullerton presented “Tolls, Exchange Rates, and Border Bridge Traffic” at the 66th International Atlantic Economic Society Conference in Montreal, Quebec.
Tom Fullerton was invited by the Department of Economics at Texas A&M University to present “Borderplex Law of One Price Deviation Duration Evidence” at the Hispanic Economic Issues Conference in College Station, Texas.
June 2008
Tom Fullerton presented “Cross-Border Brand Name Price Differences” at the Oxford University Business & Economics Conference in Oxford, UK.
Tom Fullerton presented “Tendencias a Largo Plazo para la Economía Metropolitana de Ciudad Juárez” to the Instituto Mexicano de Ejecutivos de Finanzas in Ciudad Juárez.
April 2008
Tom Fullerton was invited by the University of Arkansas at Little Rock Institute for Economic Advancement to present “Borderplex Population Modeling and Data Requirements” as part of the applied research seminar series in Little Rock, Arkansas.
February 2008
Angel Molina presented “Borderplex Economic Trends” to the Greater El Paso Association of Realtors.
January 2008
Angel Molina presented “El Paso 2008 Economic Outlook” presented to the El Paso Sunrise Rotary Club.
