Timothy J. Bartik

Dr. Bartik is responsible for developing and conducting research on state and local economic development and local labor markets. He is currently researching alternative policies for increasing labor demand for the urban poor. He received his Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1982 and was Assistant Professor of Economics at Vanderbilt University prior to joining the Institute in 1989. At this year’s Outlook Conference, he presented “What Should Michigan Be Doing to Promote Long-Run Economic Development?”

David W. Berson

In his capacity as Senior Vice President and Chief Economist at The PMI (Private Mortgage Insurance) Group, Dr. Berson’s responsibilities include the analysis and forecasting of the U.S. economy; housing and mortgage markets; domestic and global market research; and strategic environmental planning. Prior to joining PMI in October 2007, he served as Chief Economist at Fannie Mae and, as well, at Wharton Econometrics, and has served the federal government in the Office of Tax Analysis at the Treasury Department and in the Office of the Special Trade Representative. At this year’s Outlook Conference he focused his presentation on the vitally important question: “The Outlook for Housing and Mortgage Markets in 2010: Is the Recovery For Real?”

Joan P. Crary

A senior staff member and research scientist in RSQE since 1978, Joan Crary is a principal co-author of RSQE’s econometric models of both the U.S. and the Michigan economies. She is an expert on the fiscal position of the U.S. government as well as the economy and finances of the State of Michigan. She is quoted frequently in the regional financial press, and her expertise is sought regularly by legislative committees and departments of state government in Lansing.

Richard T. Curtin

Dr. Curtin has been a featured annual speaker at the Economic Outlook Conference since 1976 when he became Director of Michigan’s world-renowned Survey of Consumers. He is truly an expert on the American household as consumer, and his research into the measurement of consumer sentiment has produced the only survey measure which is an official component of the Index of Leading Economic Indicators. In recent years, he has consulted with officials seeking to establish consumer surveys in Russia, China, Hungary, the Czech Republic, and Indonesia. At this year’s Outlook Conference, he presented “The 2010 Outlook for Consumption”

William C. Dunkelberg

Dr. Dunkelberg, professor and former dean of the School of Business and Management at Temple University, is a nationally known authority on small business, entrepreneurship, consumer credit, and government policy. He is a Fellow and past president of NABE, the National Association for Business Economics. Since 1971, he has served as Chief Economist for the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB). In that capacity, he is responsible for NFIB’s monthly survey of the attitudes and plans of independent business leaders, and he authors a monthly report that explains the survey results. He is much in demand on the national stage, having appeared on ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, and numerous local news and business TV and radio shows. At this year’s Outlook Conference, he presented “Economic Recovery: Will Small Business Provide the Jobs?”

George A. Fulton

Professor Fulton is a specialist in regional economic modeling, forecasting, and economic development. He has participated in the Michigan Economy project in RSQE since the mid 1980s, and holds the rank of Director in the RSQE unit and Research Professor at the Institute for Research on Labor, Employment, and the Economy (IRLEE), where he is Director of the Center for Labor Market Research. Dr. Fulton has published widely in the academic literature and is quoted frequently in the regional press. He has also been an exceptionally successful teacher of economic forecasting procedures; and his presentations, whether in a classroom or at a conference, always sparkle with wit and clarity.

Donald R. Grimes

For the past thirty years, Mr. Grimes has been engaged in economic forecasting for state and local governments. He is frequently called upon by those units to analyze policy and to evaluate economic strategies. He received his master’s degree in Economics from the University of Michigan, and is currently a Senior Research Specialist at the University’s Institute for Research on Labor, Employment, and the Economy (IRLEE), where he is Assistant Director of the Center for Labor Market Research. His primary research interests are in labor economics and economic forecasting.

Peter Hooper

Dr. Hooper oversees a team of economists that analyzes and forecasts developments in the U.S. economy and financial markets. He joined Deutsche Bank Securities in the fall of 1999, first as chief international economist; he shortly thereafter assumed responsibilities as chief U.S. economist. He frequently comments on US economic and financial developments in the news media, and he and his team have, in recent years, ranked highly in the Wall Street Journal’s poll of economic forecasters. Prior to joining the firm, he enjoyed a distinguished 26-year career at the Federal Reserve Board in Washington, D.C. He held numerous positions at the Fed, including as an economist of the Federal Open Market Committee and as deputy director of the Division of International Finance. In doing so, he developed an informed view of the Fed’s policy-making process. He earned a BA in economics from Princeton University. He has published numerous books, journal articles, and reviews on economics and policy analysis. At this year’s Outlook Conference, he presented “U.S. Economic Outlook: A Wall Street View”

Paula M. Lantz

Dr. Paula Lantz, a social epidemiologist, is the S.J. Axelrod Collegiate Professor of Health Management and Policy, and is Chair of the Department of Health Management and Policy. She is also a Research Professor at the Institute for Social Research. Prior positions include working as an epidemiologist for the Wisconsin Division of Health and as a senior researcher for Marshfield Clinic. She is the director of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Scholars in Health Policy Research at the University of Michigan. Her main areas of research interest are policy issues in women’s health and child health, clinical preventive services (such as cancer screening and prenatal care), and social inequalities in health. She teaches courses on public health policy and policy analysis methods. At this year’s Outlook Conference, she presented “Health Care Reform: Policies, Politics, and Progress.”

Daniil Manaenkov

Daniil Manaenkov has recently joined the RSQE unit as an Assistant Research Scientist. His responsibilities at RSQE include participation in the U.S. modeling effort and the preparation of national economic forecasts. He received his Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Minnesota in 2009 and also holds an MSc in Applied Mathematics and Physics from Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology. His research interests include macroeconomics, financial economics, and monetary economics. In the past he has worked for the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, where he was involved in forecasting the U.S. economy.

Arthur R. Schwartz

Dr. Schwartz began working for General Motors in 1985 as the Industrial Relations Staff labor economist. He became General Director of Analysis & Strategic Planning in 1989 and assumed his current position in 1992. He has been on the General Motors negotiation team for the past seven sets of national negotiations. His duties, in addition to negotiations planning, include supervising the job security and employee placement function, workforce forecasting, reporting of current employment, and linking workforce and manufacturing strategies. Before coming to GM, he taught economics and industrial relations at the University of Michigan for seven years. In addition, he taught industrial relations at Wayne State University and the University of Michigan-Dearborn. He was a research scientist at the Institute of Labor and Industrial Relations while teaching at the University of Michigan. He earned his doctorate in economics at the University of Michigan, with a specialty in labor economics. At this year’s Outlook Conference, he presented “The Auto Industry—A Look Back and a Look Forward”

Stanley A. Sedo

Dr. Sedo has recently returned to RSQE as an Assistant Research Scientist. He received his Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Michigan in 1992 and worked as a research assistant in RSQE during his graduate student years. His research has concentrated on labor market analysis and his new responsibilities at RSQE include management of the database for the U.S. econometric model, as well as participation in the U.S. modeling effort and the preparation of national economic forecasts. He is also a Lecturer and academic advisor in the Department of Economics.

Tyler Shumway

Dr. Shumway received his Ph.D. at the University of Chicago School of Business in 1996. His research examines the structure and function of financial markets and the pricing of financial securities. Some of his recent work concerns bankruptcy prediction and the pricing of corporate bonds, the efficient market hypothesis, and the intersection of psychology and finance. His research has been published in the Journal of Finance and Journal of Business, and has been featured in numerous business and popular publications. At this year’s Outlook Conference, he presented “Reactions to the Stock Market Crash.”