For those of you in the Washington, DC area, or who make frequent trips to the area, the Society of Government Economists is starting to organize discussion groups that are open to everyone. (You do not have to be a member of the SGE to join, though in any case SGE membership is only $25 per year.) These discussion groups will meet at times and places that are most convenient for members of the group, such as during lunchtime or during a happy hour after work, simply to discuss topics of interest and possibly consider group projects such as brown-bag lunches or publications.

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.