GRP GROWTH
S
hale oil and gas activity has generated a dramatic impact on the South Texas regional
economies. The local economies of South Texas have tended to move in the same direction
over time partly because of their exposure to oil and gas production.
ECONOMIC TRENDS
Following a contraction in 2009, the Gross Regional Product (GRP) of all metro areas within
the region expanded at a rapid pace in 2012. Gross Regional Product is the broadest measure of
the size of a regional economy. Except for Brownsville, most metro area’s GRP has increased at a
faster pace than the U.S. average around 2 percent annually.
Shale oil
and gas
activity has
generated
a dramatic
impact on
the South
Texas
regional
economies.
Corpus Christi’s GRP grew as much as 7.6 percent in 2012 before slowing down to an estimated
3.3 percent in 2014. The GRP growth rates of the five South Texas metro economies tended to
converge to the statewide and nationwide average in 2014.
GRP Growth
Sources: Bureau of Economic Analysis; author’s calculations.
8
Annual Review of South Texas Economy