President’s Letter

Dear Fellow NABE Members,

I hope this letter finds you in seasonally adjusted good condition as you begin to reflect on what you accomplished in this year of 2007.  And with this reflection, you must be setting about the goal of being audacious in your aspirations for 2008.  The line of sight need not be too clear, but the direction must be expansion and growth, whether you are seasoned or just getting your feet wet in your profession.
I find some inspiration in the recent commentary by several noted economists, including Federal Reserve Chairman Bernanke, who are highlighting the importance of returns to education.  One of our goals at NABE in the coming year is to better define what our profession may claim as its core body of knowledge, to use a phrase often employed by the CFA Institute and others that certify and set professional standards.  In so doing, we believe we will "discover" how much education we absorb in our careers while using and expanding our tools from the many fields in economics.

We want to "bottle" the core knowledge and develop a NABE plan that we think will enhance your career development, and with it, your aspirations.  I hope you are excited about the journey.  This is not something we will accomplish in a New York minute, but rather over time and very carefully.  Fortunately, we have many high caliber professional members who have given this great consideration over the years, beginning with Gil Heebner (see his NABE presidential address in the January 1977 issue of Business Economics), Richard Berner, David Berson, Don Conlan, Mark Dadd, Tom Davis, William Dunkelberg, Nick Filippello, Maurine Haver, Stuart Hoffman, Ben Laden, Rosemary Marcuss, Peter Max, Duncan Meldrum, Lynn Michaelis, Tim O’Neill, Robert Parry, Joel Prakken, Dick Rippe, Harvey Rosenblum, Frank Schott, Jim Smith, Diane Swonk, Carl Tannenbaum, our AUBER colleagues, and many others.

You may be aware, for example, that Duncan Meldrum led the Board of Directors to launch the Professional Development Seminars (PDS), beginning in 2005.  Duncan was stalwart in his conviction that these were important sessions to assist entry-level professionals in their education of vital practical tools for successful careers in the business economics field.  And fun too (all is not dismal)!  Gradually, each year the PDS is building up a set of curricula that can't be found on most campuses in either the undergraduate or masters' programs in economics.

So the journey has already begun.  We hope you will send us your thoughts on this road trip and, of course, if you would like to volunteer to get on the bus, please let me know!

By now I hope you have seen the excellent coverage NABE received as the host to the Economic Debate 2008. The economic advisers of several of the major presidential campaigns weighed in on several important economic policy issues.  We had several prominent partners for this nonpartisan event—Altarum, Macroeconomic Advisers, the National Economists Club, and the Tax Foundation. The co-moderators were outstanding – Judy Woodruff and David Wessel needed no introduction!  They kept the program on track with discussions ranging from the general approach to the role of government in the economy to solutions that candidates may offer regarding negative backwash from globalization. Of course, how do these presidential candidates propose to pay for initiatives at the same time they endeavor to address the alternative minimum tax (AMT) and potentially larger budget deficits in the future?  Stay tuned and please be sure to come to the Policy Conference as we are planning another "Economic Debate" in March.

Wishing you and yours all the very best for a prosperous 2008.

Ellen Hughes-Cromwick
NABE President