Program

Sunday, March 20, 2005

4:00-6:30

Registration - Ballroom Foyer

5:00-6:30 PM

Welcome Reception
Salon E

Sponsor: AUBER and NABE

Monday, March 21, 2005

6:30 am -5:00 pm

Registration -- Ballroom Foyer

6:30 -7:30 am
Early Morning Coffee
Ballroom Foyer

Sponsor: Latin Source

7:30 7:45 am

Welcome
Salon A/B

Rosemary D. Marcuss, NABE President/Deputy Director, Bureau of Economic Analysis
Janet F. Speyrer, AUBER President/Associate Dean, Business & Economic Research Division, University of New Orleans

7:45- 10:15 am
The Policy Agenda Examined
Salon A/B

Sponsor: Standard & Poor's

7:45- 8:25
Economic Policies of the New Administration

Ellen Hughes-Cromwick, Chief Economist, Ford Motor Company, moderator
Kristin Forbes, Member, Council of Economic Advisers

8:25-9:00AM
The Policy Agenda: Likely Outcomes

At this session, we'll evaluate possible outcomes of the Administration's expected economic policies and initiatives as they move through the Congress and the mill of public opinion.

David Wyss, Standard & Poor's, moderator
Thomas D. Gallagher, Senior Managing Director, ISI Group, Inc.

9:15-10:15
How the New Policy Team and Initiatives Affects Financial Markets

This Wall Street panel will offer their perspectives on the Administration's economic policies and initiatives.

Kathleen M. Camilli, Independent Economist, Camilli Economics, moderator
Michael Dicks, Chief Economist for Europe, Lehman Brothers, London
William C. Dudley, Director of U.S. Economic Research, Goldman Sachs & Company
Richard H. Clarida, Chief Economic Strategist, The Clinton Group/Professor of Economics, Columbia University

Sponsor: NABE Financial Roundtable

10:15-10:45 AM
NETWORKING BREAK -- Ballroom Foyer

Sponsor: LaSalle Bank/ABN AMRO, N.A

10:45-12 Noon
CONCURRENT EDUCATIONAL SESSIONS A

1 Directions for Tax Reform - Salon C

This panel will discuss potential structural changes to the tax landscape and whether they might be radical or incremental.

C. Eugene Steuerle, Senior Fellow, The Urban Institute, moderator
Michael J. Graetz, Professor of Law, Yale University
William Gale, Senior Fellow, Brookings Institution

2 Universities and Economic Development-Technology creation, diffusion, and commercialization - Salon D

Universities are increasingly involved in development of commercializable intellectual property. Motivated by a variety of reasons, not the least of which is the potential revenues that result from licensing fees, many universities have created technology incubators, research and development parks, and augmented traditional measures of faculty performance by including measures of faculty entrepreneurship. From a government perspective, the Department of Commerce Economic Development Administration has been increasingly interested in the role of universities in local/regional economic development. Further, the Department of Commerce, Technology Administration is involved in promoting university lead development of new technologies with an eye towards commercialization. Finally, the value of university stockpiles of intellectual property can only be realized through the transfer of technology. This session seeks to examine what is currently being done to maximize the value of universities as catalysts for regional economic growth.

Jeffery T. Collins, Director, Center for Business and Economic Research,
Sam M. Walton College of Business, The University of Arkansas, moderator
Andrew Brod, Director, Office of Business and Economic Research,
Bryan School of Business and Economics, The University of North Carolina at Greensboro, moderator

Sandy Baruah, U.S. Department of Commerce's Economic Development Administration Chief of Staff
Benjamin Wu, Assistant Secretary, Technology Administration, U.S. Dept. of Commerce
Carol Conway, Deputy Director, Southern Growth Policies Board

Sponsor: AUBER and the NABE Regional/Utility Roundtable

3 Issues in Hemispheric Integration - Salon E

The panel will provide an update on the current status of U.S. trade relations within the hemisphere and what progress is expected in furthering hemispheric trade and economic integration in the years ahead.

Peter Thurlow, Deputy Director, International Economic Relations & Summit Division, Foreign Affairs Canada, moderator
Claude Carrière, Minister (Economics) and Deputy Head of Mission, Canadian Embassy
Andrés Velasco, Economist, LatinSource/Professor of International Finance and Development, Harvard University
Regina Vargo, Assistant USTR for the Americas, Office of the U.S. Trade Representative

Sponsors: Canadian Association for Business Economics and NABE Manufacturing Roundtable

12:00-1:30 pm
LUNCHEON
Canada's Experience with Inflation Targeting

The head of Canada's central bank will present his views on the extent to which the Bank of Canada's adoption of an explicit inflation target boosted the BoC's creditability and to what extent it has improved the effectiveness of monetary policy in Canada.

Chris Lawless, Chief Economist, BC Investment Management Corp, moderator
David Dodge, Governor, Bank of Canada

Sponsor: Canadian Association for Business Economics

1:45-3:00 pm
CONCURRENT EDUCATIONAL SESSIONS B

1 Fixing Current Account Imbalances: Who Owns Dollar Policy? - Salon C

Panelists will give an assessment of the interplay between the large U.S. current account deficit and the path of the dollar, and how both may be affected by policies of some of our trading partners to manage their currencies against the dollar.

John E. Silvia, Chief Economist, Wachovia Bank N.A., moderator
Catherine L. Mann, Senior Fellow, Institute for International Economics
Jim O'Neill, Head of Global Economic Research, Goldman Sachs & Company
Michael Mussa, Senior Fellow, Institute for International Economics

Sponsor: NABE International Roundtable

2 Consumer Savings: A Policy Issue? - Salon D

The personal savings rate is near zero at a time health care and other retirement costs are rising as aging baby boomers reach the point of leaving the labor market. Are consumers under-saving and will this cause a crisis in the next decade? What, if anything, should policymakers do about it today?

James Meil, Chief Economist, Eaton Corporation, moderator
Susan Sterne, President, Economic Analysis Associates, Inc.
Robert G. Shackleton, Principal Analyst, Congressional Budget Office

3 Poster Session - London Room 2

How Sensitive Is the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule to Changes in the Main Parameters?” Martey S. Dodoo , Senior Economist, The Robert Graham Center
"Innovations in BEA Regional Economic Accounts," Kathy Albetski, Chief, Regional Economic Information System Branch, Bureau of Economic Analysis
“Latin America, Turkey, Russia, and China,” Ann Schroeder, President, LatinSource
“A New Leading Indicator of National Employment Change,” Steven Director, Professor, Rutgers University
“A Quantitative Evaluation of Antitrust Policies Within a Cross-Country Framework: Effectiveness and Efficacy,” Serdar Dalkir , Principal, Micra Inc.
“SOI Data Availability for Business/Economic Research,” David Jordan, Statistician, and Ellen Legel , Economist, Internal Revenue Service
“Is Small Beautiful? Issues in Economic Research by Small Centers for Small Regions,” Martha Meaney, Professor & Coordinating Director of Metro West Economic Research Organization, Framingham State College

3:00-3:30 pm
NETWORKING BREAK - Ballroom Foyer

Sponsor: Macroeconomic Advisers LLC

3:30-4:45 pm
CONCURRENT EDUCATIONAL SESSIONS C

1 Alternative Approaches to Monetary Policy Making - Salon D

The use of incoming economic and financial indicators in monetary policymaking will be discussed along with a review of goals and objectives of monetary policy

Carl R. Tannenbaum, Chief Economist, LaSalle Bank/ABN/AMRO N.A., moderator Kate Barker, Member, Bank of England
Laurence H. Meyer, Former Governor, Federal Reserve System/Macroeconomic Advisers

2 Oil, Gas, and Policy Options for Energy Security - Salon E

This session will concentrate on the North American energy markets, their security, future supply, demand and price, and the impact of alternative energy policies.

Yorgos Papatheodorou, Chief Economist, Lockwood Greene, moderator
Donald A. Hanson, Argonne National Laboratory
Allison Nathan, Vice President, Goldman Sachs & Company
Andre Plourde, Professor and Chair, Economics Department, University of Alberta,

Sponsor: Canadian Association for Business Economics, NABE Regional/Utility Roundtable, and NABE Manufacturing Roundtable

3 Social Security Reform - Salon C

This session will address the Administration's proposals to reform Social Security, including the cost implications of private accounts

Kevin L. Kliesen, Economist, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, presiding
David Wessel, Economics Reporter, Wall Street Journal, moderator
Peter Orszag, Senior Fellow, Brookings Institution
Michael Tanner, Director of Health and Welfare Studies, The Cato Institute

5:00-5:45 PM
CONCURRENT POLICY BRIEFINGS

1 Health Care Policy: The Way Forward - Salon C

A look at federal health care policy reforms that address the three pillars of cost, access, and quality. How will we implement the policy reforms and address the funding challenges?

Robert F. Graboyes, Chair, Health Economics Roundtable/Visiting Professor, University of Richmond, moderator
Harvey Rosen, Chair, Council of Economic Advisers

Sponsor: NABE Heath Economics Roundtable

2 Issues in Corporate Governance - Salon D

Policies are evolving to improve corporate governance through a variety of measures. Our speaker will discuss these and his views on improving corporate governance.

Richard B. Berner, Chief U.S. Economist, Morgan Stanley, moderator
Daniel L. Goelzer, Member, Public Company Accounting Oversight Board

6:00-7:30 pm
RECEPTION

The Embassy of Canada

501 Pennsylvania Avenue NW

Walking directions at NABE registration desk. Metro stop: Archives. Have photo ID; no briefcases, bags, and the like, please.

Sponsor: Canadian Association for Business Economics

Tuesday, March 22, 2005

7:30-9:00 am
BREAKFAST

Health Information Technology

Our speaker will describer the current state and prospects for health information technology and how it might help slow the growth of health-care costs.

Laurie M. King, Senior Writer, Capital Guardian Trust, presiding
Jeffrey Moore, Senior Vice President/Chief Development Officer, Altarum Institute, introducer
David J. Brailer, National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, U.S. Health & Human Services Department

Sponsor: Altarum Institute

9:15-10:30 AM
CONCURRENT EDUCATIONAL SESSIONS D

1 Human Capital and U.S. Competitiveness - Salon D

Economic growth and competitiveness depend on human capital quality. Quality is
maximized by early life-cycle investing.

Stuart G. Hoffman, Chief Economist, PNC Financial Services, introducer
Rob Dugger, Managing Director, Tudor Investment Corp., moderator

Flavio Rezende-Cunha, Research Associate, Center for Program Evaluation, University of Chicago
Dimitriy V. Masterov, Professor of Economic, University of Chicago
Ross Thompson, Professor of Psychology, University of California
Rob Grunewald, Economic Analyst, Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis

2 Deficit Projections: Strategies and Outcomes - Salon C

Recent deficit projections from the CBO suggest that under current policies triple-digit deficits will be with us through the end of the decade. Hear two respected budget experts share their perspectives on where the deficit is headed and what hard choices may be made to rein in the deficit.

Chris P. Varvares, President, Macroeconomic Advisers, moderator
Douglas Holtz-Eakin, Director, Congressional Budget Office
Joe Minarik, Senior Vice President and Director of Research, Committee for Economic Development

3 Can Health Care Costs Be Slowed Without Sacrificing Quality? - Salon E

Panelists will discuss how health savings accounts, association health plans, and other health policy solutions may mitigate cost growth and improve quality.

Richard Manning, Senior Director, Corporate Policy, Pfizer Inc. , moderator
Joseph P. Newhouse, John D. MacArthur Professor of Health Policy and Management, Harvard University
Grace-Marie Turner, President, Galen Institute, Center for Consumer Driven Health Care

Sponsor: Centene Corporation

10:30-11:00 am
NETWORKING BREAK - Ballroom Foyer

Sponsor: Wachovia Bank, N.A.

11:00-12:15 pm
CONCURRENT EDUCATIONAL SESSIONS E

1 Cyber Security and Terrorism - Salon C

How the nation's public-private partnership for cyber security must forge detailed but unencumbering policy to strengthen cyber security against terrorists anxious to bring down our critical infrastructure and other evolving threats.

Christopher M. Swann, Senior Consultant, Global Insight Inc., moderator
Greg Garcia, Vice President, Information Security Policy and Programs, Information Technology Association of America

Sponsors: NABE Technology Roundtable

2 Retirement and Health Care Benefit Challenges in a World of Single-Digit Returns - Salon D

These experts will lay out the size of the problem, the risks involved, likely policy changes, and the implications of potential solutions for companies and state and local governments.

Dallas Salisbury, President & CEO, Employee Benefit Research Institute, moderator
Richard Berner, Chief U.S. Economist, Morgan Stanley
Trevor Harris, Managing Director of Valuation, Accounting, and Enterprise Risk, Morgan Stanley

3 The Role of Climate Exchanges in Efficient Pollution Reduction - Salon E

Hear from two outstanding practitioners about the role of climate exchanges in reducing pollution.

Ellen Hughes-Cromwick, Chief Economist, Ford Motor Company, moderator
Charles R. Plott, Professor of Economics and Political Science, California Institute of Technology
Richard L. Sandor, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Chicago Climate Exchange

Sponsor: NABE Corporate Planning Roundtable

12:15-1:45 pm
LUNCHEON

A View from Outside the Administration

Rosemary D. Marcuss, NABE President/Deputy Director, Bureau of Economic Analysis, presiding

Al Hunt, Washington Bureau Chief, Bloomberg, moderator
Gene B. Sperling, Former Director, National Economic Council (under President Clinton)/Senior Fellow, Center for American Progress

Sponsor: Bloomberg

2:00-3:15 pm
The Current Debate About Public Employee Pensions

Richard Wobbekind, Associate Dean, Leeds School of Business, University of Colorado, moderator
Keith Brainard, Research Director, National Association of State Retirement Administrators
Paul Zorn, Director of Governmental Research, Gabriel, Roeder, Smith & Company

Sponsor: AUBER and NABE Regional/Utility Roundtable

3:15-3:30 PM
NETWORKING BREAK - Ballroom Foyer

Sponsor: Haver Analytics

3:30-4:45 PM
The American Community Survey: More Timely Regional Data - Salons C/D

Currently underway, the American Community Survey will completely replace the Census Bureau's long form by 2010. Learn about this new survey and how it will provide timely regional data on a continuous basis.

Maurine Haver, Chair, NABE Statistics Committee, moderator
Nancy M. Gordon, Associate Director for Demographic Programs, Census Bureau, speaker
John W. Ruser, Associate Director for Regional Programs, Bureau of Economic Analysis, discussant
Kenneth E. Poole, Executive Director, ACCRA, discussant

Sponsor: AUBER and the NABE Statistics Committee

Extend Your Stay in Washington DC an Additional Day

Immediately following the Washington Policy Conference, plan to attend the Bureau of Economic Analysis' (BEA's) popular User Workshop for the Regional Input-Output Modeling System (RIMS II) at the BEA on March 23.The workshop is free, but is limited to the first 25 registrants. Priority will be given to NABE and AUBER members. The registration cut-off date is March 4, 2005. See the RIMS page for agenda and registration.