Coloradans who are concerned about the economy might want to listen to what Richard Wobbekind has to say at a panel discussion Jan. 13 at the Boulder Public Library. The associate dean in the University of Colorado's Leeds School of Business is a leading expert on the state's economy and what it will likely look like in the months and years to come.
He is one of several economic experts who will address the state's and nation's economic woes at "The Economic Crisis and You: Views and Perspectives" a panel discussion at 6:30 p.m. in the library's Canyon Theater. The event is part of the "CU @ The Boulder Public Library" series hosted by the library and the CU-Boulder Outreach Committee.
The panel will feature CU-Boulder Professor Keith Maskus and instructor Jay Kaplan of the CU-Boulder department of economics along with senior instructor Susan Morley of the Leeds School of Business. Wobbekind will be moderating as well as participating in the panel discussion.
Wobbekind is director of the Leeds School's Business Research Division and associate dean for MBA and enterprise programs. As director of the Business Research Division, his responsibilities include developing an annual consensus forecast of the Colorado economy and performing various economic impact assessments of the Colorado economy.
The program will begin with a reception at 6 p.m., followed by the panel discussion and a question-and-answer period. Tickets or reservations are not required and both the program and reception are free and open to the public.
"In the last recession Colorado entered later and took longer to recover than the rest of the nation," Wobbekind said. "The question this time around is 'Will Colorado recover as fast as the rest of the nation?' Our initial reaction is that we think it will."
The immediate question on everyone's mind, Wobbekind said, is "When will Colorado's economy begin to improve?"
"The optimistic answer is the third quarter of 2009," he said. "Depending on how fast the federal stimulus package gets passed and what it includes, I can see things getting back to normal in September."
The Jan. 13 program is sponsored by the CU-Boulder Outreach Committee, Boulder Public Library, Boulder Arts Commission, Division of Continuing Education and Professional Studies, Leeds School of Business and College of Arts and Sciences.
For more information, contact the Boulder Public Library at 303-441-4113 or e-mail outreach@colorado.edu.