Peter F. Orazem · University Professor of Economics
Peter F. Orazem
Iowa State University
267 Heady Hall
518 Farm House Lane
Ames, IA 50011-1054
515-294-8656
pfo@iastate.edu
- Select a category to view below:
- Biography
- APR Articles
- Media Contacts
Peter Orazem is University Professor in the Department of Economics at Iowa State University. His fields of interest include labor economics, human capital, and agricultural economics. Peter joined Iowa State as an assistant professor in 1982, and received University Professorship in 2003.
Winter 2023
Declining Firm Entry and Self-Employment in Small MarketsPeter F. Orazem and John V. Winters
Winter 2021
Minimum Wages and Rural and Urban Firm Entry and ExitYulong Chen, Liyuan Ma, and Peter F. Orazem
Spring 2020
Does Rural Broadband Expansion Encourage Firm Entry?Yulong Chen, Liyuan Ma, and Peter F. Orazem
Spring 2019
What Affects Firm Location and Firm Employment at State Borders?Georgeanne M. Artz, Yulong Chen, Liyuan Ma, and Peter F. Orazem
Winter 2017
Hospital Closure and Hospital Choice: How Hospital Quality and Availability will Affect Rural ResidentsDeepak Premkumar, Dave Jones, and Peter Orazem
Winter 2016
Location, Location, Location: Place-Specific Human Capital, Rural Firm Entry and Firm SurvivalGeorgeanne M. Artz, Zizhen Guo, and Peter F. Orazem
Spring 2014
Can the Trend of Rural Population Decline Be Reversed?Georgeanne Artz, Younjun Kim, and Peter F. Orazem
Tuesday, February 7, 2023
"ISU Economist: Disinflation a Good Sign, But There's Still a Ways To Go"Peter Orazem was interviewed by KFAB about current inflation trends in the United States.
Wednesday, January 25, 2023
"Why used car prices are dropping — at least for now"Peter Orazem was interviewed by We Are Iowa about recent market trends in used car prices.
Also appears in:
- https://www.thv11.com/article/money/used-car-sales-2023-buyer-market-tax-refund/524-e7149d38-1af7-4dfa-9807-de104b6fd6a7
Thursday, January 12, 2023
"Expert: Wells Fargo cut of WDM-based mortgage business will 'come at the cost of jobs'"Peter Orazem was interviewed by The Des Moines Register about Wells Fargo downsizing their mortgage business.
Tuesday, January 3, 2023
"A hot labor market is good, right? So why could it lead to a recession?"Peter Orazem was interviewed by Marketplace about the current job market.
Friday, December 9, 2022
"Are union strikes happening more than usual this year?"Peter Orazem was interviewed by The Gazette about whether unions are striking more this year than previous years.
Wednesday, November 23, 2022
"Recouping Iowa’s worker losses will be difficult, state economist says"Peter Orazem was interviewed by The Quad City Times about Iowa's recession and its ability to recoup its labor losses.
Wednesday, November 23, 2022
"ISU economist says rail strike could ultimately impact power supply"Peter Orazem was interviewed by Radio Iowa about how a potential rail strike next month could impact power supplies in Iowa.
Tuesday, October 11, 2022
"Persisting labor issues are a factor in Iowa’s negative Q2 GDP, economists say"Peter Orazem as interviewed by Business Record about the factors that contributed to Iowa's negative Q2 GDP.
Wednesday, August 17, 2022
"Falling Gas Prices Not Affecting Other Consumer Prices"Peter Orazem was interviewed by iHeart Radio about whether recent changes in gas prices are reflective of all consumer prices.
Tuesday, August 2, 2022
"Would government price controls help solve our inflation problem?"Peter Orazem was interviewed by Marketplace about whether a temporary wage and price freeze by the US government would mitigate the possibility of a recession.
Friday, June 3, 2022
"Iowa gas prices just spiked again and may not come down for some time"Peter Orazem was interviewed by KCCI about gas prices in Iowa and whether they will come back down.
Thursday, June 2, 2022
"Could the tight labor market finally ease?"Peter Orazem was interviewed by Marketplace about the currently tight US labor market.
Friday, April 15, 2022
"Sluggish restaurant hiring drags down Iowa's economy in March as eateries struggle to find workers"Peter Orazem was interviewed by the Des Moines Register about Iowa's economic recovery.
Also appears in:
- https://holaamericanews.com/sluggish-restaurant-hiring-drags-down-iowas-economy-in-march-as-eateries-struggle-to-find-workers/
- https://www.dieselprogress.com/news/deere-to-move-tractor-cab-assembly-from-iowa-to-mexico/8021101.article
Sunday, April 10, 2022
"Iowa’s real Gross Domestic Product dropped from the third to the fourth quarter in 2021"Peter Orazem was interviewed by KCRG about Iowa's Gross Domestic Product dropping 2.3% from the third quarter to the fourth quarter of 2021.
Thursday, April 7, 2022
"ISU economist discusses Iowa's 2021 GDP"Peter Orazem was interviewed by KCCI about Iowa's 2021 GDP.
Thursday, March 31, 2022
"Iowa Republicans want to cut jobless aid, but economists see no reason"Peter Orazem was interviewed by Axios about the Iowa legislature's proposed bill that would reduce unemployment benefits.
Sunday, November 14, 2021
"Axne on inflation surge: ‘I’m not worried that this is going to last forever’"Peter Orazem was interviewed by KCAU about rising inflation rates in the United States.
Also appears in:
- https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/politics/iowans-feeling-pain-from-record-past-year-inflation
Wednesday, November 10, 2021
"Inflation in Iowa: Economics professors evaluate causes behind rising costs"Peter Orazem was interviewed by WHO about inflation in Iowa.
Also appears in:
- https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/politics/iowans-feeling-pain-from-record-past-year-inflation
- https://gazette.com/news/iowans-feeling-pain-from-record-past-year-inflation/article_275a178c-7f11-5beb-9fb4-3107176da88c.html
Friday, November 5, 2021
"Deere union remains on strike, holding out for a better deal"Peter Orazem was interviewed by Marketplace about the ongoing UAW/John Deere strike.
Wednesday, October 27, 2021
"Historic number of Iowa workers quit in August"Peter Orazem was interviewed by Yahoo! about a record number of Iowan's quitting their jobs in August.
Friday, October 15, 2021
"Economists see Deere employees in good position during negotiations"Peter Orazem was interviewed by Radio Iowa about the John Deere/UAW contract negotiations.
Tuesday, October 12, 2021
"John Deere, UAW resume negotiations after contract rejection; strike possible"Peter Orazem was interviewed by KCCI about contract negotiations between the United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Workers and John Deere.
Also appears in:
- https://www.kcrg.com/2021/10/12/john-deere-uaw-resume-negotiations-after-contract-rejection-future-strike-possible/
Thursday, September 23, 2021
"Iowa Economic Leaders Working to Get More People Back On the Job"Peter Orazem was interviewed by WHO Radio about Iowa's workforce.
Monday, September 20, 2021
"Iowa businesses cope with continued shortage in available labor"Peter Orazem was interviewed by the Gazette about Iowa's labor pool.
Monday, August 23, 2021
"Iowa unemployment rate and labor force go up in July"Peter Orazem was interviewed by the Times-Republican about Iowa's July unemployment and labor force numbers.
Also appears in:
- https://www.mdjonline.com/neighbor_newspapers/extra/news/iowa-unemployment-rate-and-labor-force-participation-go-up-in-july/article_b64069c1-0e32-50d8-918f-ad2b9594ec6e.html
- https://www.bdemo.com/news/iowa-unemployment-rate-and-labor-force-participation-go-up-in-july/article_cfdcf78e-1001-11ec-ac9d-a7d613a2108d.html
Monday, July 26, 2021
"ISU Economist Says Iowa’s Tax Structure Is ‘Relatively Uncompetitive Overall’"Peter Orazem was interviewed by KIWA Radio about Iowa's current tax structure.
Friday, July 2, 2021
"Iowa economists: Workforce participation rate still low as U.S. adds 850,000 jobs"Peter Orazem was interviewed by Iowa Capital Dispatch about the workforce participation rate.
Also appears in:
- https://patch.com/iowa/across-ia/tri-state-gop-governors-give-rosy-outlook-economic-recovery
Friday, July 2, 2021
"ISU economists say current recession ‘most peculiar’"Peter Orazem was interviewed by Iowa Public Radio about the post-pandemic recession.
Wednesday, June 23, 2021
"Iowa unemployment rate rises slightly as slow recovery from COVID-19 pandemic continues"Peter Orazem was interviewed by the Des Moines Register about Iowa's unemployment rate.
Monday, June 14, 2021
"$300 federal unemployment bonus ended in Iowa Sunday"Peter Orazem was interviewed by Radio Iowa about a $300 federal unemployment bonus that Governor Reynolds ended on Sunday.
Wednesday, June 9, 2021
"Lobbying group says Right to Work laws lead to faster employment growth, but evidence is mixed"Peter Orazem was interviewed by PolitiFact about a Wisconsin right-to-work law and its effect on employment.
Friday, May 21, 2021
"Understanding Why Hiring Is So Difficult In Iowa"Peter Orazem was interviewed about Iowa's currently thin labor pool on River to River.
Monday, May 10, 2021
"Everybody wants a John Deere tractor. But not everybody wants a John Deere job. Why?"Peter Orazem was interviewed by the Des Moines Register about the shortage in farming implements and Iowa's current labor pool.
Also appears in:
- https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2021/05/12/john-deere-tractor-mower-iowa-jobs-agriculture-equipment-demand/5056502001/
- https://www.wisfarmer.com/story/money/2021/05/12/john-deere-tractor-mower-iowa-jobs-agriculture-equipment-demand/5056502001/
Monday, February 1, 2021
"New study looks at success of business start-ups in rural towns"Peter Orazem was interviewed by Farm World about his recent study that looks at the factors that determine the success of rural start-up businesses.
Sunday, January 10, 2021
"'A huge shock': December US job losses show a recovery on pause"Peter Orazem was interviewed by S&P Global about the US Bureau of Labor Statistic's December jobs report.
Saturday, November 21, 2020
"Boosting small towns requires new strategies"Peter Orazem was interviewed by Illinois Farmer Today about his research on rural economies.
Also appears in:
- https://www.agupdate.com/agriview/news/business/certain-rural-towns-attract-new-business/article_c3625ef8-c46b-5722-8eab-ffdacc53308f.html
Thursday, September 3, 2020
"Nationwide is shedding a building in Des Moines. As working from home becomes routine, will others follow?"Peter Orazem was interviewed by the Des Moines Register about Nationwide closing an office building in Des Moines.
Tuesday, June 9, 2020
"It’s official: We’re in a recession"Peter Orazem was interviewed about the National Bureau of Economic Research determination that the US is now in a recession.
Monday, May 4, 2020
"Iowa's restaurants, shops welcome chance to reopen, but many businesses and customers still on sidelines"Peter Orazem was interviewed by the Des Moines Register about Iowa partially re-opening its economy.
Wednesday, March 25, 2020
"ISU and Creighton economists say federal stimulus checks a good idea"Peter Orazem was interviewed by Radio Iowa about the Trump Administration's proposed stimulus package.
Also appears in:
- https://bit.ly/3bwBXSo
Thursday, March 19, 2020
"New Iowa unemployment figures show slight rise, but don't reflect most coronavirus impact"Peter Orazem was interviewed by the Des Moines Register for an article about a recent rise in Iowa's unemployment figures.
Also appears in:
- https://bit.ly/2xgw8tn