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Pacific Northwest Regional Economic Conference Announces 2nd Call for Papers
The 43rd Pacific Northwest Regional Economic Conference will take place May 18 and 19, 2009 at the Hilton in Vancouver, Washington. Proposals are encouraged for presentations by economists and allied professionals on the many relevant economic issues in the Pacific Northwest.
Our conference theme this year is “Recession and Recovery: Current Impacts and Future Opportunities for the Pacific Northwest”. As we go deeper into what may be the most severe downturn since the 1930’s–one that may bring substantial changes to our regional and national economies– it seems an appropriate time to both take stock and to look ahead. In terms of looking back, we are especially interested in papers focusing on structural changes over the past 20 years in states, provinces, smaller areas, or industries of interest. Papers speculating on how the economic landscape may be changing, and the opportunities inherent in those changes, are also encouraged. How might we be affected by the Obama stimulus package? Will the U.S. dollar weaken, and if so, how might that affect us (on either side of the border)? Where is manufacturing headed? Consumers and the retail sector? Banking and financial regulation?
There will be panels on energy, health care, education/workforce development, tax structures and revenues, labor markets, cross-border issues, real estate, and more. A special panel on measuring inflation will feature representatives from BLS and BEA to highlight methodological challenges with the Consumer Price Index and the Personal Consumption Expenditures deflator, and BEA staff will be back to share with us developments in personal income.
Proposals for individual or panel presentations, in the form of a short abstract, should be emailed to Scott Bailey at scott [dot] bailey [at] esd [dot] wa [dot] gov by April 24th. Presenters will be expected to register for the full conference and to provide a powerpoint presentation, if it is to be used at the conference, by May 1. Presenters are urged to bring 15 to 20 copies of full papers to share with conferees.
We are certainly living in interesting times. Make the most of them and work up a presentation. We look forward to seeing you in May!
Yves Smith on Life After the Financial Meltdown
Yves Smith blogs at naked capitalism, which was recently cited as one of the most influential economic/financial blogs on the web. Yves has spent over 25 years in the financial services industry and currently heads Aurora Advisors, a New York based management consulting firm specializing in corporate finance advisory and financial services. Prior to that, Yves, a graduate of Harvard College and Harvard Business School, worked for Goldman Sachs (corporate finance), McKinsey, and Sumitomo Bank (head of mergers & acquisitions).
Bob Baugh on the Future of Manufacturing
Bob Baugh is the first Executive Director of the AFL-CIO Industrial Union Council. The Council, comprised of the nation’s leading industrial unions and chaired by AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Richard Trumka, is the coordinating body for the federation’s manufacturing policy and legislative initiatives. Bob also serves as the co-chair of the AFL-CIO Energy Task Force and was the leader of the U.S. labor delegation to the UN Climate Change Conference negotiations in Bali and Poznan, He regularly testifies before Congress, acts as a spokespeson for the federation and writes about manufacturing, trade, globalization, energy and the economy.
Bob is a former Oregon resident who served as Secretary-Treasurer at the Oregon AFL-CIO and head of workforce development for the Oregon Economic Development Department.
Yoram Bauman: Economic Humor
No, really, an economist can be funny. and Yoram is funny. Many of you have seen his take on Mankiw’s Ten Principles of Economics on YouTube. Yoram will be entertaining us after our Monday night dinner. He has appeared at venues ranging from the New York Improv to the American Association for the Advancement of Science’s annual meeting. He has a BA in mathematics from ReedCollege, a PhD in economics from the University of Washington, and spends his non-comedy hours teaching in the UW environmental studies program and researching the economics of climate change.
David Wyss To Present National Outlook
David Wyss, chief economist at Standard & Poor’s, will present the National Outlook at the 2009 PNREC Conference in Vancouver, Washington on May 18. Wyss has long been one of the top economic forecasters in the nation.
His presentation will be followed by the traditional panel of state forecasters from the four states and two provinces in the Pacific Northwest: Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, British Columbia, and Alberta.
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