IU Economists to Talk About World Economic Crisis

Indiana University economists will share their insights and analysis in a symposium intended for students, faculty, staff and the general public.

The event, titled "Worldwide Economic Crisis: Proximate Causes, Historical Perspective and Policy Responses," will take place from 2 to 4 p.m. 3 April in room 100 of Woodburn Hall, 1100 East Seventh Street, Bloomington.

IU economics and finance faculty members, and alumni with expertise in various aspects of the economy, will each speak for 15 or 20 minutes, followed by a question-and-answer session.

* Gregory Udell, the Chase Chair of Banking and Finance at the Kelley School of Business, will critique the performance of the Federal Reserve and its regulation of financial institutions prior to the fall of 2007.
* George von Furstenberg, professor emeritus of economics, will focus on inefficiencies and side effects of the government's financial stabilization programs.
* Elmus Wicker, professor emeritus of economics, and Ellis Tallman, IU graduate and Danforth-Lewis Professor of Economics at Oberlin College, will draw out common features and important differences between the current crisis and historical episodes.
* Bill Witte, professor emeritus of economics, will compare the current recession with other post-World War II recessions and forecast where the U.S. economy is headed.
* Michael Gapen, a Federal Reserve Board economist and IU Ph.D. in economics, will discuss the Fed's policy response to the crisis, including the expansion of the Federal Reserve balance sheet and the setting of the federal funds rate to approximately zero.
* Leeper will present the monetary-fiscal policy response and discuss the economic rationale underlying the unprecedentedly large stimulus package.

The event is sponsored by the Department of Economics, part of the College of Arts and Sciences, and by the Center for Applied Economics and Policy Research. For more information, send an email or go online.

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