Chad Moutray’s Role at SBA Blends Research, Advocacy

As policymakers and lawmakers focus on ways to revive the U.S. economy, NABE member Chad Moutray will be looking for opportunities to keep them informed about how small businesses could play a significant role in the turnaround.

Moutray is chief economist and director of economic research in the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Office of Advocacy, a post he has held since the fall of 2002.  He heads a staff of seven economists whose mission is to provide research on all aspects of small business and to work with federal agencies to ensure that these entrepreneurs are informed about regulations that affect their operations.

“Our research is taken seriously, but not in a partisan way,” Moutray said in a Nov. 26 phone interview.  Members of the Office of Advocacy staff have met with the transition team of President-elect Barack Obama in recent weeks and will no doubt work with the new administration and key members of Congress early next year as they explore policy changes designed to boost business investment as well as consumer spending.

Small Business Contributions Appreciated

“In general small business entrepreneurs are appreciated for what they contribute to the economy,” he said.  “Studying small business issues can be very rewarding, as there is an almost universal appreciation for what we do on both sides of the political aisle.” 

“Our research has a wide audience and can be influential.  With that said, the largest challenge is the dearth of current small business data,” Moutray said. Most national data released on a monthly or quarterly basis include estimates by sector or industry, but not by business or firm size.

Yet the importance of small business in job creation is widely recognized, even if timely measures are hard to come by.  The SBA Office of Advocacy website says “since the mid 1990s, small businesses have created 60 to 80 percent of net new jobs.” 

Drawing on the Census Bureau and other agencies for some key data, the SBA Office of Advocacy continues to try to improve small business statistics, sometimes working with private organizations that support research, Moutray said. 

“There have been great strides in improving the situation, and yet it is difficult to say with any accuracy exactly how well small businesses are doing in the current economic climate without using proxy information, anecdotal evidence, or severely lagged data,” he pointed out.  Data compiled and organized by Moutray’s office describe the full gamut of economic activity generated by small businesses across the United States.

Assuming Leadership Roles in NABE

A member of NABE since starting his current job in 2002, Moutray found right away that the organization “provides excellent programs to its members.”  Conferences that attract top economists and networking opportunities through both the national organization and its chapters are among the most valuable benefits of membership, he said.

Moutray will be the next president of the National Economics Club, the Washington, D.C., chapter of NABE, serving for 2009.  “Through our weekly speaker series, we attract hundreds of local economists each year to hear from some of the top economists in the area, especially with regard to federal policymaking,” he said.

He has also been a member of the organizing team for Get Connected, the NABE program launched last spring for early and mid-career professionals.  He will be participating in the new mentor program that is part of Get Connected.    It was in his year on the NEC board that Moutray “saw Get Connected as another avenue to increase the overall networking opportunities of our members,” he said.  As part of the chapter team of Get Connected, he is helping to explore new ways of attracting interest from chapters around the country—both to NABE and to Get Connected.

Transition from Academia to SBA

Before joining the SBA’s Office on Advocacy, Moutray was dean of the School of Business Administration at Robert Morris College in Chicago. For the most part, his transition was a smooth one as the approach of the business school was similar to the SBA’s way of doing business, he said. 

One main difference is that as chief economist, he has more interaction with news media and he said he has learned a great deal on the job about being interviewed and also been impressed with the high regard that media and researchers in general have for SBA data.  “We operate in a nonpartisan way and that is appreciated” by data users, he said.

Moutray does miss working with students and the satisfaction of knowing he played a role in their academic success, he said.  The Get Connected mentor program will be one way to keep that connection, albeit in a different setting, he added.

Asked what advice he would have for newly minted economists, Moutray returned to the theme of education.  “Education opens doors.  That sounds like a cliché, but it is true.  I have been afforded many opportunities in my life because of my education and my past experiences,” he said.

It’s also critical, especially early in building a career to make professional connections, he said. “When I applied for this position [at SBA], I received word that my future bosses were checking on me with other individuals in Chicago and in the academic community—people whom I had not listed as references.  Fortunately, I knew one of these individuals well enough that he gave me an excellent reference.  This is proof that our everyday contacts, even those that we least expect, can be helpful to us at some point in our careers.”

For more information about the SBA’s Office of Advocacy, go to: http://www.sba.gov/advo/