Faculty & Staff Resources

A Dallas Morning News business column asks whether sports franchises generate enough economic development to warrant public support of financing of new stadiums. Roger Meiners, professor and chair of the UTA Department of Economics, said, “Whether the economic return is good is almost irrelevant because there’s competition to host the team. Arlington made an offer so good that the Rangers didn’t even have to shop around.”

KRLD/1080 AM (CBS) interviewed Roger Meiners, professor and chair of the UTA Department of Economics, about Friday’s announcement by the Texas Rangers that they plan to build a new $1 billion stadium to replace Globe Life Park in Arlington. “If Arlington wants to retain the Rangers, they knew they were going to have to make an offer because other cities in the area would be happy to entertain them,” said Meiners, who also noted jobs and other economic benefits to keeping the Rangers in Arlington.

Roger Meiners, John and Judy Goolsby and E.M. Rosenthal Chair in Economics and Law in UTA’s College of Business and chairman of the Economics Department, was featured in a KDFW Fox 4 story about potential cuts in retirees benefits from insolvent pension funds. “A lot of people don't think about saving for their old age until they're already in their old age. Too late then," Meiners said

Proposed regulation of e-cigarettes (Faculty) Regulation Magazine published an article coauthored by Roger Meiners, UT Arlington’s economics department chair, about the proposed regulation of e-cigarettes, which the authors say should not be restricted. Instead, they say such innovation should be encouraged. A George Will column in The Washington Post referenced the Regulation Magazine article.

Harvard Companies’ Downtown Uptown blog quoted Roger Meiners, professor and chair of the Department of Economics at UT Arlington, on the substantial number of insurance industry jobs headed to North Texas. “For a large employer they want a big city,” Meiners said. “They could go to Amarillo — it would be cheaper — but it’s too small, and nobody wants to live there. You don’t have enough people to draw on. A company that’s going to be hiring a lot of people wants to be in a big labor pool.” The article initially appeared in the Dallas Business Journal.

A Dallas Business Journal article about lower oil prices and a general reluctance of businesses to expand quoted Roger Meiners, professor and chair of the Department of Economics at UT Arlington. Meiners said the North Texas economy won’t be battered as badly as areas more dependent on the energy industry, such as Houston and West Texas. A separate DBJ article quoted Meiners on the substantial number of insurance industry jobs headed to North Texas.

A new book comprised of five essays by U.S. economists connects the dots between entrepreneurship, economic freedom, and economic growth, detailing their interrelated roles in America’s sluggish economic recovery, Fraser Institute.org reported. Two of the economists, Roger Meiners of The University of Texas at Arlington and Andrew P. Morriss of the Texas A&M University School of Law, examine the roles of the U.S. legal system and how special interests corrupt the legal and economic framework. They also explain how market competition is impacted by regulation.

If divestment campaigns seeking to sever colleges from fossil fuel investments are successful, students, who are largely manning the campaigns, will lose, an op-ed piece in the Boulder Daily Camera reported. Lisa Hamil, a University of Colorado instructor and consultant in the oil and gas industry, wrote the piece. She quoted Roger Meiners, chair of the UT Arlington Economics Department in the College of Business. Meiners said that divesting from fossil fuels when the world depends on these resources for affordable sources of energy does not effectively address the issue of climate change

The Austin American-Statesman featured a column by Roger Meiners, UT Arlington professor of economics, about the ways that increased environmental regulation can hurt the U.S. economy. He said: “The administration talks a lot about climate change but does little to help produce the technology that can solve the problem.”

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel published an op-ed by Roger Meiners, professor and chair of the UT Arlington Department of Economics, criticizing rules on carbon emissions. Meiners wrote: “Labor market participation is 5 percent lower than during the recession. Measured unemployment is down only because many have given up hope of finding a job. College graduates with degrees supposed to guarantee good jobs, such as engineering, no longer matter as much... In the midst of this sluggishness, it is puzzling that the Obama administration is leading a war on coal and other fossil fuels that generate the vast majority of our energy.” The McClatchy-Tribune News Service originally published the piece.

The McClatchy-Tribune News Service published an op-ed by Roger Meiners, professor and chair of the UT Arlington Department of Economics, criticizing rules on carbon emissions. Meiners wrote: “Labor market participation is 5 percent lower than during the recession. Measured unemployment is down only because many have given up hope of finding a job. College graduates with degrees supposed to guarantee good jobs, such as engineering, no longer matter as much. What is going on? In the midst of this sluggishness, it is puzzling that the Obama administration is leading a war on coal and other fossil fuels that generate the vast majority of our energy.” The Miami Herald, Anchorage Daily News, Washington Olympian, St. Louis Post-Dispatch and other media organizations carried the piece.

A Dallas Morning News article about millions from Texas trust funds used to help reel in the Final Four and lesser events quoted Roger Meiners, professor and chair of the UT Arlington Department of Economics. Meiners said competition for events or businesses persuades governments to take risks. He’s not sure that’s always a worthwhile financial strategy. “It becomes this bidding war for who will do the most, provide the most goodies for those making the decisions,” he said. “It ends up being pretty expensive.”

More than 500 economists across the country are calling for a comprehensive approach to address the nation's poverty by fostering economic growth, The Dallas Morning News reported. The group presented an open letter to federal agencies and congressional committees. Roger Meiners, UT Arlington economics chair, was one of those economists signing the letter.

The region was encrusted in a 4-inch-thick layer of ice, and North Texans wanted to know why city and state leaders weren't doing more to clear the roads, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported. Roger Meiners, a UT Arlington economics professor and chair of that department, said, "Nobody was starving, but the whole cycle of transportation was goofed up, and it will probably take a week for it to get back up."

Roger Meiners, a professor of law and economics at UT Arlington, was quoted in Mitchell Schnurman’s Dallas Morning News column about political moves to end in-state tuition for immigrants living here illegally. Schnurman said the law sends a message that Texas doesn’t erect barriers to education. Meiners added: “Good companies don’t come to Texas to exploit people making minimum wage. They want well-educated workers.”

The U.S. economy could fall into recession in early 2013 if Congress fails to stop a looming fiscal cliff made up of automatic spending cuts and tax hikes, Housingwire reported in a story that featured UT Arlington professor Roger Meiners, chair of the University’s economics department. Meiners said: "Markets have already taken into account the fiscal cliff and a lot of their concerns are already reflected in stock and equity prices, as well as decisions that businesses are making today."

Housing Wire interviewed Roger Meiners, UT Arlington economics chair and the Goolsby Distinguished Professor of Economics and Law, on Federal Reserve strategy. While the Fed appears afraid that mortgage-backed securities purchases will push rates higher and harm housing, the inevitable carve back has to come at some point, Meiners said, adding: “It will happen sometime for sure, but the administration seems to pressure the Fed to keep pumping cheap money out. The longer we wait to end the program the worse things will be at the other end.”

KDFW/FOX 4 interviewed Roger Meiners, the Goolsby Distinguished Professor of Economics and Law and chair of the Department of Economics at UT Arlington, about the sequestration set to take effect this week. “There may be a few furloughs, that is, they may require some federal employees to take a couple of weeks off without pay, and that’s unfortunate, but this is an effort to engineer a crisis,” Meiners said. “Then you get, of course, people saying ‘Oh we have to have this protected.’ Government spending has been going through the roof. If we’re going to get it under control, it means we have to get serious about where there’s going to be cuts.”

KTVT/CBS 11 featured UT Arlington economics professor Roger Meiners in its reports on the merger of American Airlines and US Airways. Meiners said DFW has some of the highest airfares in the nation and he doesn’t expect that to improve because American isn’t getting more competition.

Roger Meiners, professor and chairman of the economics department at UT Arlington, appeared on KTVT/CBS 11 to comment on a potential merger between American Airlines and US Airways. “I don’t think there’s going to be many changes that we will see as the users of their services here,” Meiners said. But, he added, it means consumers won’t experience the interruption they may have faced if American was dismantled in bankruptcy.

The Dallas Morning News featured Roger Meiners, chair of the UT Arlington Department of Economics and the John and Judy Goolsby Distinguished Professor of Economics, as one of its experts for its local economic snapshot focusing on the decline of manufacturing jobs. “The long-term downward trend over the last 30 years may have hit a bottom. The U.S. is more competitive on a wage basis because average wages have come down, especially for entry-level workers, and wages in China have been increasing. States like Texas, which have right-to-work laws, are more competitive,” Meiners said.

Roger Meiners, UT Arlington’s John and Judy Goolsby Distinguished Professor of Economics and Law, was featured in a segment on KDFW/FOX 4’s Sunday morning news program, discussing the so-called fiscal cliff. Meiners said it’s likely that President Obama and legislators won’t be able to reach an agreement until 2013. He said: “I think we'll in fact go into January without a change, let the screaming and yelling get even bigger and that is more likely then to generate a compromise at the other end. But, in any event, higher taxes are coming.”

Despite a dip in sales for General Motors’ full-sized sport utility vehicles, which are all built in Arlington, Roger Meiners, the John and Judy Goolsby Distinguished Professor of Economics and Law, and chairman of the UT Arlington Department of Economics, told KRLD/1080 AM that the lackluster numbers will likely have no impact on GM’s plans to expand its Arlington plant. “I think GM has tremendous faith in the Arlington plant,” Meiners said.

In a story about the so-called fiscal cliff, Roger Meiners, the John and Judy Goolsby Distinguished Professor of Economics and Law and chairman of the UT Arlington Economics Department, told the Fort Worth Business Press that the flat economy is worrisome. “We have no real net growth. The economy is just flat,” Meiners said.

Roger Meiners, John and Judy Goolsby Distinguished Professor of Economics and Law at UT Arlington, was quoted in a WFAA/ABC 8 report on rumors that Delta Airlines or TPG Capital will buy the bankrupt American Airlines parent company AMR. Meiners said the $4 billion that AMR had on-hand when it filed for bankruptcy allow it to operate without fear of a court-ordered sale. WFAA report

Roger Meiners, the John and Judy Goolsby Distinguished Professor of Economics and Law, and chairman of the UT Arlington Department of Economics, was referenced in a CBSDFW.com article about “Bank Transfer Day,” which urged people dissatisfied with bank fees to move their money to credit unions on Saturday. Meiners suggested that consumers consider alternatives before deciding to withdraw all of their money.

Roger Meiners, chairman of the economics department in the UT Arlington College of Business, was a guest on KTVT/CBS11 to discuss President Barack Obama's appearance in North Texas Tuesday. Meiners said the President's jobs proposal is "largely a campaign stunt" and the way to strengthen employment opportunities is to ease uncertainty about government policy.

Roger Meiners, UT Arlington chair and professor of economics, said Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner's visit overseas is likely to be about showing moral support for Europe, Housing Wire reported. "I can't fathom that there is a promise of more money. The U.S. played a role in trying to help stabilize the European banking system. When the whole system was on the verge of imploding, the U.S. made a lot of cash available."

Gov. Rick Perry often cites job creation in his Texas as an economic miracle but some are saying it's an economic mirage as many the new jobs are poor hourly wage professions that people say can't sustain a decent living, the Guardian in the United Kingdom reported. Roger Meiners, a UT Arlington economics professor, was quoted in the article. "The tax and regulatory policies are more business friendly than in other large states," Meiners said.

Roger Meiners, professor of economics and department chair, contributed his expertise to a story in HousingWire. As members of the Federal Reserve Board attend the Federal Open Market Committee on June 21 and 22 to discuss interest rates and the final two weeks of quantitative easing under QE2, economists are busy guessing what the Fed will or will not say about economic stimulus going forward. Dr. Meiners believes the Fed board will not change the interest rates. "They have gotten themselves into a trap. They are afraid if they raise interest rates it will quash the minimal growth that we already have. In real estate, the low interest rates are not doing a lot to stimulate demand. You have a massive backlog of unsold property, and it will take a couple of years to clear that out."

Roger Meiners, professor of economics and department chair, was quoted in a Fort Worth Star-Telegram story on inflation and consumers' reactions to it. The story said that while only 4 percent of the average household's budget went to gasoline in 2009, increases in prices today have pushed gasoline's share into 6-7 percent of the budget. "If you have an extra 2 percent of your disposable income going to gasoline, people notice it," Meiners said.

Roger Meiners, professor of economics and department chair, was quoted in a Bloomberg.com story about states luring veteran professors to retire as budget cuts loom. "These buyouts will become more common," Meiners said. "Most states have horrific budget problems and they haven't dealt with the kinds of cuts in higher education that are going to be necessary."

Roger Meiners, economics department chair and professor, was featured in a story in the Austin American-Statesman that explored whether Gov. Rick Perry can take credit for Texas economic resiliency. Meiners credits Perry for pressuring the Legislature to keep taxes and spending low while continuing a business-friendly environment. "Overall, Gov. Perry has done a solid job," Meiners said. "How that relates to possible presidential ability is less clear."

Roger Meiners, Professor of Economics, commented on the possibility that the economy is experiencing a "double-dip" recession in a story published in the Dallas Business Journal.

Roger Meiners, Professor and Chairman of the Economics Department, wrote a Wall Street Journal op-ed piece that questioned whether a national fish hatchery that had received $179,000 in stimulus funding for solar panels was worthwhile.