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

A mismatch between the federal government’s revenues and spending, now and in the foreseeable future, requires heavy borrowing, leading to a large and increasing federal debt. That increasing debt raises a serious challenge to all of the goals that various people expect their government to pursue. It also raises questions about the nation’s future wealth and whether too much debt could lead to higher interest rates and even to loss of confidence in the nation’s long-term ability and commitment to honor its obligations. Many analysts have concluded that the trajectory of the federal budget set by current policies cannot be sustained.

In light of these projections, Choosing the Nation’s Fiscal Future assesses the options and possibilities for a sustainable federal budget. This comprehensive book considers a range of policy changes that could help put the budget on a sustainable path: reforms to reduce the rate of growth in spending for Medicare and Medicaid; options to reduce the growth rate of Social Security benefits or raise payroll taxes; and changes in many other government spending programs and tax policies. The book also examines how the federal budget process could be revised to be more far sighted and to hold leaders accountable for responsible stewardship of the nation’s fiscal future.

You can view the book at:
http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12808.

Whatever the outcome of the cap and trade debate, US agriculture operates in a global food chain system where carbon/ GHG credits increasingly figure into investments and trade.  Primary agriculture and value added agro-industries, including food and beverage manufacturing, the biofuel industry, biotech, fertilizer manufacturers and pulp and paper producers, offer significant opportunities for carbon emissions reductions and emissions offsets.  For this particular reason, the two economic sectors are viewed as critical components in addressing the issue of climate change. Dr. Gilmore will discuss the development and applications of an index targeted to agriculture that can measure: 1/ financial gains from the introduction of new abatement technologies; 2/ balance sheet asset credit valuations; and 3/ minimize risk and maximize gains in valuations as a universal hedging instrument.

Rick Gilmore is President of GIC Group, an international agribusiness company.

The presentation: GIC-ACI Presentation_SGE.1802 (745kb PDF)

The 2010 Census will involve the largest domestic deployment the Federal government has ever undertaken, designed to count the people living in 145 million households in the United States. This talk with discuss the design and implementation of the 2010 Census, including efforts to reach out to historically under-counted populations. There are public debates over a host of substantive issues as we near the beginning of the 2010 Census, including how to characterize and count same-sex couples, the best ways to employ and screen the 1.3 million temporary workers hired to help with the Census, and the established-since-1790 approach of including all residents, citizens and noncitizens, in the count.

Rebecca Blank is the Under Secretary of Commerce for Economic Affairs at the Department of Commerce

Update: presentation slides (13MB PPT)

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

The current recession, and the associated financial crisis, have challenged some deeply held understandings about banking and the business cycle. Economists in the public and private sectors have been front and center in responding to these challenges. The latest news from the front will be discussed.

Update: presentation slides

Rising spending for Medicare, Medicaid and other health programs is a central feature of the daunting U.S. Federal fiscal outlook. What is the relationship between reform of the U.S. health care system and addressing the projected rise in federal debt? How successful are the current reform efforts in meeting these objectives?

Thursday, November 19, at Chinatown Garden, 618 H St NW
Washington, DC (Gallery Place metro). $16 for members, $20 for non-members (includes lunch). For reservations, please email andrew.felton@sge-econ.org by 11 am, Wednesday, November 18.

You can sign up for discussion groups here. Once enough people sign up for a group, they will be contacted to determine their availability to meet at various times and places. If you only have time to attend one discussion group, but are interested in more than one, it is suggested that you check off on the form every possible group, and then decide what meetings to attend based on your schedule once those groups start scheduling meetings.

If you are interested in joining SGE, please click here. While you do not need to be an SGE member to be in a discussion group, we do ask SGE volunteers and Chairs of the discussion groups to become members if they are not already.

Dr.  Susan Offutt, chief economist of the GAO, will speak on October 15, 2009.

The GAO, also known as the “congressional watchdog,” is the primary agency in charge of ensuring accountability in government spending. The GAO is playing a particularly important role in enforcing accountability and transparency in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, a.k.a. the stimulus bill. Dr. Offutt will explain what the GAO does as an audit institution and discuss the role of economic analysis is supporting the GAO’s mission, especially with regard to the Recovery Act.

Please note that this lunch will be held at a different location.

• When: 12:00 noon to 1:30pm
• Where: Darlington House, 1610 20th St NW, Washington, DC
• Cost: $20 members
  $25 for non-members
  (includes lunch)
• Reservations: Before 11:00 am on Wednesday, October 11 to Andrew Felton
• Metro: Dupont Circle (Red Line)