Border Economic Forum 2006
May 26, 2006
University of Texas at El Paso

Join economists and scholars from the University of Texas at El Paso, Banco de México, Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas and New Mexico State University, along with prominent local business leaders, as they discuss the future of the Paso del Norte regional economy.

Agenda

8:00 a.m. Registration and Continental Breakfast 8:30 a.m. Opening Remarks   Robert Nachtmann Dean, College of Business Administration University of Texas at El Paso   Keith R. Phillips Senior Economist and Policy Advisor Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, San Antonio Branch 8:40 a.m. Current Economic Conditions in the U.S. and Mexico   U.S. Economic Outlook [PDF] Alan D. Viard Senior Economist and Research Officer Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas   Mexico Economic Outlook [PDF] Abraham Vela Dib Manager, Strategic Planning Department Banco de México México, D.F.   Texas Economic Outlook: Clear Skies Ahead [PDF] Keith R. Phillips   Texas Border States: Gross Regional Product, Industrial Output and Employment [PDF] Agustín del Río Toffé Head, Regional Delegation Banco de México, Monterrey Branch   Moderator Luis Bernardo Torres Economics Ph.D. Student University of Colorado at Boulder 10:20 a.m. Break 10:30 a.m.  Current Economic Conditions in the Paso del Norte Region   Border Economic Outlook [PDF] Roberto Coronado Assistant Economist Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, El Paso Branch   El Paso Economic Outlook 2025 [PDF] Thomas M. Fullerton Jr. Wells Fargo Professor of Economics and Finance University of Texas at El Paso   The Las Cruces Economy [PDF] Christopher A. Erickson Associate Professor of Economics New Mexico State University Las Cruces   Moderator Ebetuel Pallares International Business Ph.D. Student University of Texas at El Paso Noon Lunch 1:30 p.m. Discussion Panel   Bill Holmes Chief Executive Officer and Chairman Datamark Inc. El Paso   Cecilia O. Levine President MFI International Manufacturing, LLC El Paso   Miguel Fernández Founder TransTelco Juárez, Chihuahua   Juan Bournas Senior Director for the Americas Medi-Flex Inc. El Paso   Moderator Ebetuel Pallares 2:50 p.m. Closing Remarks   Robert Nachtmann 3 p.m. Adjourn

Speakers

Juan Bournas
Senior Director for the Americas
Medi-Flex Inc.
El Paso As senior director for the Americas for Medi-Flex Inc., Bournas is responsible for the promotion and expansion of Medi-Flex products in Canada, Mexico and Latin America. He has over 14 years of experience in managing business development, global negotiations and marketing initiatives across international markets in a variety of industries. He has served as senior director of commerce at the Commercial Office of Chile in Tokyo, Japan; director with the Commercial Office of Chile in Sydney, Australia; senior trade negotiator with the Department of Commerce and Foreign Affairs in Santiago, Chile; and as an equities analyst for First Chicago Bank. Bournas earned a B.A. in international studies from Fairleigh Dickinson University and an M.B.A. from the Macquarie Graduate School of Management in Sydney.

Roberto Coronado
Assistant Economist
Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, El Paso Branch
Coronado conducts research on issues pertaining to the Mexican economy, the maquiladora industry and the U.S.–Mexico border economy. He also co-directs the Network of Border Economics (NOBE/REF), a network of researchers aimed at studying the border economy. His work has been published in the Annals of Regional Science, Southern Economic Journal and Investigación Económica. Previously, he worked as a research economist at Deloitte & Touche. Coronado holds a bachelor’s degree in economics and accounting and a master’s degree in economics from the University of Texas at El Paso.

Agustín del Río Toffé
Head, Regional Delegation
Banco de México, Monterrey Branch
In addition to his duties as head of the regional delegation for Banco de México’s Monterrey branch, del Río is a part-time professor of economics at Autonomous University of Nuevo Leon and at Tecnológico de Monterrey. He has previously served as full-time professor at Tecnológico de Monterrey; economist in the Western Hemisphere Department of the International Monetary Fund; chief economist of Vitro, a manufacturing conglomerate based in Monterrey; and head of research at the Center for Economic Policy. Del Río has a master’s degree in economics and a Ph.D. in econometrics and monetary theory and policy from the University of Missouri at Columbia.

Christopher A. Erickson
Associate Professor of Economics
New Mexico State University Las Cruces
Erickson joined the economics and international business department at New Mexico State University in 1987. His research interests include the role of financial institutions in economic development and environmental and development issues along the U.S.–Mexico border. He is the author or coauthor of numerous articles on financial economics and the border economy and is a frequent speaker on financial economics, macroeconomics and the border economy. Erickson teaches money and banking classes at NMSU and is the recipient of several teaching awards. He holds a B.A. from Willamette University and a Ph.D. from Arizona State University.

Miguel Fernández
Founder
TransTelco
Juárez, Chihuahua
Fernández founded TransTelco in 2001 as an Internet service provider for the El Paso/Juárez region. TransTelco now plays a prominent role as a provider of cross-border services. In 2004, TransTelco became the only local telephone carrier in Juárez, furnishing a local fiber network between Juárez and El Paso. Under Fernández’s direction, TransTelco focuses on providing seamless telecommunication services to cross-border clients using an advanced network and proprietary fiber optics. Fernández earned a bachelor’s degree in finance from the University of Texas at El Paso.

Thomas M. Fullerton Jr.
Wells Fargo Professor of Economics and Finance
University of Texas at El Paso
At the University of Texas at El Paso, Fullerton conducts research on borderplex business conditions. Previously, he served as senior economist at the University of Florida Bureau of Economic and Business Research, international economist with Wharton Econometrics and economist with the Executive Office of the Governor of Idaho. His research has been published in academic journals in North and South America, Europe, Asia, Africa and Australia. He holds a B.B.A. from UTEP, an M.S. from Iowa State University, an M.A. from the University of Pennsylvania and a Ph.D. from the University of Florida.

Bill Holmes
CEO and Chairman
Datamark Inc.
El Paso
Holmes is co-owner and founder of Datamark Inc., an international document and forms processing company with production centers in El Paso, Mexico and India. He has nearly 40 years of experience in computer sales, service and customer support. Before moving to El Paso in 1982, Holmes worked for various firms in Houston and in Johannesburg and Durban, South Africa. He is active in numerous civic organizations, including serving as the 2006–07 chairman of the El Paso Symphony Orchestra Trustee Board and president and chairman of the Kalahari Children’s Home Foundation. He is also a member of the Greater El Paso Chamber of Commerce.

Cecilia O. Levine
President
MFI International Manufacturing, LLC
El Paso
Levine has served as president of MFI International Manufacturing, LLC since 1990. MFI is a contract assembler, producing diversified products for automotive, juvenile, pet and ladies accessories and apparel sectors. The company also provides manufacturing, distribution and consulting services. Levine serves on the President’s Export Council as well as the boards of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, El Paso Branch, and World Trade Center El Paso–Juárez. She is active in numerous civic and professional organizations and has received several awards, including the Texas Association of Mexican American Chambers’ Businesswoman of the Year award. Levine attended the University of Texas at El Paso.

Keith R. Phillips
Senior Economist and Policy Advisor
Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, San Antonio Branch
Phillips’ areas of concentration include regional economics and economic forecasting. Since joining the Fed in 1984, he has developed indexes of leading economic indicators for Texas and Mexico, which he uses to analyze business conditions in those regions. He is a contributing member of the Western Blue Chip Economic Forecasting Group, where he has been the most accurate Texas forecaster for five of the past eight years. His research and analysis have been covered by CNN, The News Hour with Jim Lehrer, USA Today, Business Week, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times and other media throughout Texas. Phillips teaches courses in econometrics and forecasting at Trinity and St. Mary’s universities. He earned bachelor’s degrees in economics and journalism and a master’s degree in economics from the University of Missouri and a Ph.D. in economics from Southern Methodist University.

Abraham Vela Dib
Manager, Strategic Planning Department
Banco de México
México, D.F.
Vela has served in a variety of positions with Banco de México, including economist, general manager and advisor to the central bank’s board of governors. On leave from the central bank in 1998, Vela served as advisor to Mexico’s finance minister, assessing major reforms in housing, public pensions and social security. He also was appointed chief of advisors to the undersecretary of finance. He has been a visiting scholar at the International Monetary Fund. In addition, Vela has been an assistant professor at numerous Mexican universities, teaching such subjects as advanced macroeconomics, international finance, monetary theory and policy, project evaluation and public finance. He earned a bachelor’s degree from Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey, a master’s degree from El Colegio de México and a Ph.D. from the University of California at Los Angeles.

Alan D. Viard
Senior Economist and Research Officer
Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas
Viard conducts research in public finance and macroeconomics, with a focus on tax and fiscal policy and Social Security. During a leave of absence from the Dallas Fed, Viard served as a senior economist on the president’s Council of Economic Advisers from April 2003 to April 2004 and as a visiting scholar in the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Tax Analysis from January to July 2005. Before joining the Federal Reserve, Viard was an assistant professor of economics at Ohio State University. He was also a staff economist at the Joint Congressional Committee on Taxation in 1992–93 and a visiting foreign scholar at Osaka University in 1995. He has authored more than 20 articles in professional journals and Federal Reserve publications. Viard received a bachelor’s degree in economics from Yale University and a Ph.D. in economics from Harvard University.