SGE CONFERENCE 2002 · November 22, 2002

The Impact of Economics on Government Policy:

Past Accomplishments and Emerging Opportunities

Marriott at Metro Center  ·   775 12th Street, NW  ·  Washington, DC 20005

8:00 – 8:30            Registration and Continental Breakfast

8:30 – 8:45                Opening Remarks

Nabeel Alsalam, SGE President

Warren Hrung, Conference Co-Chair

8:45 – 9:30                Keynote Address

Speaker:            Anne Krueger, International Monetary Fund

9:45 - 11:15                PLENARY Session

            Analyzing the Greatest Challenge to Federal Budgeting: The Economics of Federal

Health Care Programs

Chair:    Dan Crippen, Congressional Budget Office

Panelists (invited):  Robert Reischauer, Urban Institute

                          Eugene Steuerle, Urban Institute

                          Mark Miller, Medicare Payments Advisory Commission

11:45 - 1:00            Luncheon

Speaker:            Alice Rivlin, The Brookings Institution

1:15 - 2:45            Concurrent Sessions I

Session A            What Has the Government Learned About Measuring Economic Activity?

 

Chair:    Martin David, University of Maryland

Panelists: Martin Baily, Institute for International Economics

              Barbara Fraumeni, Bureau of Economic Analysis

              Maurine Haver, Haver Analytics

Session B            The Use of Economic Analysis in Environmental Decision Making

Chair:    Richard Morgenstern, Resources for the Future

Papers: Paul Portney, Resources for the Future, “Economics in Environmental Policy: A Historical

            Perspective”

                George Eads, Charles River Associates, “Economists and the Development of Environmental

            Legislation”

            David Doniger, Natural Resources Defense Council, “The Use and Abuse of Economics: An

            Environmentalist’s Perspective”

Session C            The Economics of Education: Do Federal Financial Policies Improve Access to

                        Higher Education?

Chair:    Donna Desrochers, Educational Testing Service

Papers: Susan Dynarski, Harvard University, “Loans, Liquidity, and Schooling Decisions”

            Andrew Bershadker and Julie-Anne Cronin, Department of Treasury, “Winner and Losers in the

            Search for Education Tax Subsidies”

            Sarah Turner, University of Virginia, “Going to College and Finishing College: Explaining Different Educational Outcomes”

2:45 - 3:15            Coffee Break

3:15 - 4:45            Concurrent Sessions II

Session A            Economics and U.S. Foreign Policy

 

Chair:    Harvey Bronstein, Small Business Administration

Panelists: Stephen Cohen, American University

                  Paul Reid, Department of State

                  James Greene, Office of Senator Joseph R. Biden, Chair of the Senate Foreign Relations

  Committee

Session B            Recent Developments in Economic Regulation: Theoretical Contributions and

Challenges from New Technologies

Chair:    Nathan Musick, Congressional Budget Office

Papers: Ken Heyer, Department of Justice, “Developments in the Application of Economics to Antitrust Policy”

            Coleman Bazelon, Analysis Group Economics, “FCC License Auctions: A Mutually Enriching

Convergence of Economic Theory and Policy”

James Bessen, Research on Innovation, “Intellectual Property: Economic Policy Without Economics?”

Session C            The Contribution of Economists to the Social Security Debate

Chair:    Douglas Hamilton, Congressional Budget Office

Papers: Paul Van de Water, Social Security Administration, “The Role of Economists in the American

Social Security Debate in Recent Decades”

Lawrence Thompson, Urban Institute, “Social Security Reform: Lessons from Other Countries’ Experiences”

            Rudolph Penner, Urban Institute, “Outstanding Research Issues and Social Security Reform”

                                               

4:45                  Informal gathering in Regatta Bar