Ohio Wesleyan to Host Discussion of 2015 Economic Outlook
DELAWARE, Ohio – Ohio Wesleyan University will host its annual Economic Outlook Conference at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 12 in the Benes Rooms of Hamilton-Williams Campus Center, 40 Rowland Ave., Delaware. The free event will feature three experts who will share insights and opinions on how the local, national, and world economies are expected to perform in 2015.
Each panelist will speak for 15 minutes and then respond to questions and comments from the audience and panel moderator, Goran Skosples, Ph.D., Ohio Wesleyan associate professor of economics. The event is co-sponsored by Ohio Wesleyan’s Department of Economics and by the university’s Woltemade Center for Economics, Business and Entrepreneurship.
Panelists for the 2015 Economic Outlook Conference will be Joel Elvery, Ph.D., of the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland, discussing the national economy; Bill LaFayette, Ph.D., founder of Regionomics LLC, discussing the local/regional economy; and Ian Sheldon, Ph.D., of The Ohio State University, discussing the world economy.
Joel Elvery, Ph.D.
Elvery is an economist in the Federal Reserve Bank’s research department. His primary fields of interest are labor, public, and urban economics. He specializes in applied econometrics, which involves studying economic models and using statistical trials to calculate future trends. Prior to joining the Federal Reserve Bank in 2013, Elvery was an assistant professor at Cleveland State University. Before that, he worked as a research economist at the Bureau of Labor Statistics in Washington, D.C. He also has worked as a social science analyst at the U.S. Census Bureau’s Center for Economic Studies. Elvery holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Illinois at Chicago, and both master’s and doctoral degrees in economics from the University of Maryland.
Bill LaFayette, Ph.D.
LaFayette is an economic advisor with nearly 20 years of experience in economic development and workforce strategy. In 2011, he founded Regionomics, a consulting firm that provides information and insights into local economies, including industries, people, workforce, and growth and change. He previously spent 12 years as vice president of economic analysis for the Columbus Chamber of Commerce. Before that, he spent four years as research coordinator for Rickenbacker Port Authority, which owned and managed the cargo-dedicated Rickenbacker International Airport and Foreign-Trade Zone. He also has served on finance and real estate faculties of the University of North Texas and Ashland University. He earned his doctorate in real estate economics from The Ohio State University.
Ian Sheldon, Ph.D.
Sheldon is the Andersons Professor of International Trade at The Ohio State University. His primary research interests involve analyzing international trade and policy. Recent projects include examining the interaction between trade and environmental policies; analyzing the effects of exchange-rate volatility on international trade flows; examining the effects of policy on trade in ethanol; and analyzing China’s exchange-rate policies. Currently, Sheldon is working on issues related to carbon tariffs and the impact of intellectual property rights on U.S. seed exports. He recently completed a term as chair of the International Agricultural Trade Research Consortium, and he has served as featured articles editor of “Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy.” Sheldon earned his doctorate in economics from the University of Salford, United Kingdom, where he worked as a lecturer.
Goran Skosples, Ph.D.
Event moderator Skosples joined the Ohio Wesleyan faculty in 2006. His teaching focus includes economics of transition, macroeconomics, development economics, international economics, research methods and economic principles. His research deals with institutional changes in post-communist countries of Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union, banking and credit, and small business finance. He earned his bachelor’s degree from Lake Forest College and both his master’s and doctoral degrees from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.
Learn more about Ohio Wesleyan’s Department of Economics at https://www.owu.edu/academics/departments-programs/department-of-economics/ and more about the Woltemade Center for Economics, Business and Entrepreneurship at https://www.owu.edu/academics/departments-programs/department-of-economics/the-woltemade-center/.
Founded in 1842, Ohio Wesleyan University is one of the nation’s premier liberal arts universities. Located in Delaware, Ohio, the private university offers 86 undergraduate majors and competes in 23 NCAA Division III varsity sports. Ohio Wesleyan combines a challenging, internationally focused curriculum with off-campus learning and leadership opportunities to connect classroom theory with real-world experience. OWU’s 1,750 students represent 46 U.S. states and territories and 43 countries. Ohio Wesleyan is featured in the book “Colleges That Change Lives,” listed on the latest President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll with Distinction, and included in the U.S. News & World Report and Princeton Review “best colleges” lists. Learn more at www.owu.edu.