Susan Schechter, Chief of the ACS Office at the U.S. Census Bureau, is speaking first, providing an overview of the ACS, covering its history, content, products, and array of uses. She may also discuss future ACS plans, including the proposed increased sample size and internet response test.

Congressman Hoyer and Congressman Clay are the Congressional hosts from the House. Senator Carper has agreed to be a host and Senator Collins has been invited.

To register, or for more information, please contact Juliane Baron or Mary Jo Hoeksema at rsvp.acs@gmail.com or by phone at (202) 669-4834.

The Society of Government Economists is pleased to announce a call for candidates to the Board of Directors. You may choose to run for a specific leadership position or an at-large Board spot.

We recently created several new Board-level positions. Please read the descriptions in the bylaws at http://www.sge-econ.org/2010/06/updated-bylaws/ and consider whether you would like to perform those duties. We have also decided to change the timing of elections. Elections will now take place in February. This makes the terms better aligned with our annual conference schedule, ending shortly after the AEA conference in early January. Therefore, this year’s elections are for a shortened term as we adjust to the new schedule.

The positions up for election are:

• President (1-year term, expiring this cycle in February)
• Vice-President (1-year term, expiring this cycle in February)
• Treasurer (2-year term) The Treasurer position is not up for election this year. Brian Sloboda will continue as Treasurer during the next year.
• Executive Director (4-year term)
• Executive Secretary (1-year term, expiring this cycle in February)
• Membership Director (2-year term)
• Website Director (2-year term)
• Conference Chair (2-year term)
• Outreach Director and Event Planner (2-year term)

The Board of Directors may have up to 15 representatives, and no fewer than nine. All Directors who do not have named leadership positions will fill at-large slots.

If you are interested in running, please send your name, affiliation and title, and a one-paragraph personal statement about why you are a good candidate to elections@sge-econ.org by FRIDAY, JULY 2. Elections will occur the following week.

Thank you, and I hope to see a strong turnout of candidates. It is important to the Society that we have a diverse Board, representing the many career paths, agencies, and backgrounds that SGE represents. Serving on the Board of Directors is a great way to give back to your colleagues by furthering SGE’s mission: to support the professional development of government economists, and those who are interested in public policy economics, by providing them with research, publication, and professional communication opportunities.

If you have any questions about serving on the Board, please feel free to contact me or any of the other current Board members. Our contact information is available at http://www.sge-econ.org/about/.

Join fellow CE microdata users at this year’s 3-day workshop for a series of informative & practical sessions geared to all levels of expertise.

The Workshop is free to all participants.

Sessions designed for the novice user include:

• Basic info about the CE program and data
• Content and organization of microdata files
• Creation of data sets within and across files
• Topcoding and other confidentiality measures

Sessions designed for the more experienced user include:

• Derivation and use of weights for estimation of means and variances
• Using the multiply-imputed income variables properly
• Treating interviews independently vs. linking them across quarters
• How sales taxes are applied to reported expenditures
• Topics suggested by you, the experienced user

Sessions highlighting uses of the data:

• Research presentations by users in academia, government and private industry
• Papers demonstrating uses of both Interview and Diary survey data

Sessions covering special topics such as:

• Tips on publishing your research in the Monthly Labor Review
• “Sneak peek” at future developments in the CE

Sessions devoted to hands-on use of CE microdata

• Projects typifying basic uses of the microdata will be taken up first
• Progressively more complex projects will be addressed in later sessions

AND new this year: Individual appointments with internal experts

• Sign up to meet one-on-one with a CE staff member to answer questions about your project

You will also be able to find the registration form on the CE website at http://www.bls.gov/cex/csxannualworkshop.htm on or about June 9th.

For more information, please contact us by email at CE_Workshop_2010@bls.gov or by phone at (202) 691-6900.

George Washington University
Marvin Center Ballroom, 21st & H Streets, NW, 3rd Floor
Wednesday, May 26, 2010

9:00-5:00

We have recently seen the worst housing and financial markets since the Great Depression. Not all of the analysis of the last few years has been informed by data. The purpose of the conference is to bring together empirical work in an effort sort out what the data do and do not support as causes of the housing downturn and the sharp increase in defaults.
Topics
I. Credit Risk

Stability in Consumer Credit Scores: Level and Direction of FICO Score Drift as a Precursor to Default and Prepayment

* Brent C. Smith, Virginia Commonwealth University

Cream-Skimming in Subprime Mortgage Securitizations: Which Subprime Mortgage Loans Were Sold By Depository Institutions Prior to the Crisis of 2007

* Paul Calem, Federal Reserve Board of Governors
* Christopher Henderson, Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia
* Jonathon Liles, Freddie Mac

Causes of Default: Economic Conditions, Underwriting and Moral Hazard

* Dennis Capozza, University of Michigan
* Robert Van Order, George Washington University

II. Sources

The Subprime Crisis: How Much Did Lender Regulation Matter?

* Robert B. Avery and Kenneth P. Brevoort
* Federal Reserve Board of Governors

The Credit Rating Agencies

* Lawrence J. White, New York University

Lunch Speaker: David Stevens, FHA Commissioner
III. Property Values and Location

What Role Did Piggyback Lending Play in the Housing Bubble and Mortgage Collapse?

* Michael LaCour-Little, California State University at Fullerton
* Charles A. Calhoun, Calhoun Consulting LLC
* Wei Yu, California State Polytechnic University, Pomona

Thy Neighbor’s Mortgage: Does Living in A Subprime Neighborhood Impact Your Probability of Default?

* Sumit Agarwal, Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago
* Brent W Ambrose, Pennsylvania State University
* Souphala Chomsisengphet, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency
* Anthony Sanders, George Mason University

Fools or Crooks: Testing for Fraud in the Residential Mortgage Market

* Paul Carrillo, George Washington University

IV. Panel: The Future of Securitization

* Jay Brinkman, Mortgage Bankers Association
* Andrew Davidson, Davidson and Associates
* Arnold Kling, George Mason University
* Edward Golding, Freddie Mac

Cocktail Reception to follow at the conclusion of the conference.

Attendance is FREE, however we ask you to confirm your attendance by emailing Rob Valero at rjvalero@gmail.com.

We are seeking presentations of up to 30 minutes by users of the CE data for the workshop. There are no limits to the areas of research or degree of sophistication of the papers we seek. They can be descriptive or applied. They can present simple hypothesis testing or elegant model building. Work in progress is as welcome as finished research. However, when preparing the presentation, please note that the emphasis should be on how the data were used, questions or problems encountered, and similar discussion. Results of the research are an important, and perhaps necessary, component of these presentations; nevertheless, the emphasis sought is on application. In fact, previous workshop attendees have cited these sessions consistently among their favorites, not just because of their interest in the topics presented, but because the presentations give practical examples of how the data can be used in research.

While we cannot offer any honoraria to presenters, the workshop is free of charge to all who come. Past workshops have averaged about 50 attendees. If space permits, we will extend invitations to the local professional community to attend the sessions, so you can anticipate a significant audience for your presentation.

By the way, if you have a colleague who might be interested in presenting, please forward this invitation. Also please note that the workshop is an excellent forum for graduate students to gain experience presenting their work, and to get helpful comments on research in development, including dissertation proposals or theses in progress.

If you would like to be part of the 2010 CE Users’ Microdata Workshop program or have any questions about the workshop, please contact us by May 17, 2010 at CE_Workshop_2010@bls.gov, or by phone at (202) 691 – 6900.

Thanks! We look forward to hearing from you.

The 2010 USAID Economic Growth Officers’ Conference is open to USG professionals in the field of economic growth (economists, private enterprise officers, and specialists in agriculture, natural resources management, and engineering). Registration is required for all attendees. Please feel free to forward this message to interested USG colleagues.

We look forward to seeing you at the conference.

Sincerely,

Rachel A. Bahn
Program Economist, EGAT / EG / EPG
United States Agency for International Development
1300 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20523
Tel: 202.712.5543
rbahn@usaid.gov

I am pleased to announce that we have been invited to attend an event at the Brookings Institution on “Measuring Up in a Changing Economy: A Look at New U.S. Service Sector Data and Why It Matters.” It will be held on Friday, March 12, 2010, from 10:00 AM to 11:30 AM at the Brookings Institution.

Through its new quarterly survey of services sector activity, the U.S. Census Bureau is filling an important gap in the nation’s data needs. On March 12, one day after the first census quarterly release on the output of finance and insurance firms, Economic Studies at Brookings will host a discussion on how the new data can better inform economic policy.

To view the full page, go to:
http://www.brookings.edu/events/2010/0312_us_service_sector.aspx

The Brookings Institutions is located at 1775 Massachusetts Ave., NW, Washington, DC 20036

I am pleased to announce that we have been invited to attend a very special event: a Congressional Briefing on “Better Living through Economics: How Fundamental Economic Research Improves People’s Lives.” It will be held on Monday, March 15, 2010, from 12:00 to 1:30 PM at the Rayburn House Office Building.

The event includes a box lunch, and it is being sponsored by the Consortium of Social Science Associations (COSSA). It includes highly distinguished economists who have done research on this general topic, such Lawrence Ausubel (University of Maryland), Brigitte Madrian (Harvard Kennedy School), Alvin Roth (Harvard University), and John Siegfried (Vanderbilt University). Please see the attached flyer: Invitation to Congressional Briefing on the Benefits of Economic Research.

There is no charge for attending, but we are being asked to RSVP as soon as possible to cossa@cossa.org or 202-842-3525.

This briefing will discuss the important benefits that derive from economic research. I think this is a theme that we, who generally perform economic research for the overall benefit of the public, can truly appreciate.

I look forward to seeing you there!

Sincerely,
Steve

Interested individuals are encouraged to submit papers for presentation at the 2010 PEA Annual Conference. Registrants also are invited to be paper discussants and organize sessions. Paper proposals may be submitted and registration information obtained through the PEA web site at http://aux.edinboro.edu/pea. The proposal deadline is April 1, 2010. The conference registration deadline is May 1, 2010.

More details available here: Call for Papers – PEA 2010