IU economists to discuss issues with students

As an economics major, sophomore Matt Sjoerdsma said he follows the economy daily in his classes and in the news. But when asked if he felt his fellow students were informed on these critical issues, he responded, “No, not at all.”

Sjoerdsma said it is difficult to keep up with current events on campus with so little time left after studying and classes. He said there are too many news sources and ideas to which to turn.

“With all of the 24-hour news channels we have, there’s too much information for students that aren’t actually interested in it to sit there and sort through it,” Sjoerdsma said.

For this reason and others, the Department of Economics has decided to sponsor a forum of feature presentations by IU economists in an effort to educate the public, students, faculty and staff of the current economic conditions so they can form educated opinions.  

The event, titled “Worldwide Economic Crisis: Proximate Causes, Historical Perspective and Policy Responses,” features seven economists and a question-and-answer session from 2 to 4 p.m. Friday in Woodburn Hall room 100.  

The IU economists, finance faculty and alumni will provide their expertise in addressing certain misconceptions of the economy and the current recession that many citizens deem the “next Great Depression.”

Each economist will feature a different focus, ranging from a discussion on the current conditions compared to previous historical epidemics, the rationale underlying the stimulus package and a forecast to where the economy is headed.

Eric Leeper, professor of economics and organizer of the forum, said he thinks attendees will be able to get a better sense of how the government is responding to the current financial situation – especially those who lack an understanding of the economy and yet fear the future.

“Fear often comes from ignorance, and hearing people who are experts in matters explain what’s going on can in itself be reassuring,” Leeper said, emphasizing that the presentation will be factual about the current economy, rather than ideological.

As for fear of the “next Great Depression,” Bill Witte, professor emeritus of economics who will compare the current recession to post-World War II recessions, said this recession is already longer than any recession since World War II but is “significantly unlikely” to be comparable to the Great Depression. However, he said he finds the knowledge of the economy “not particularly high, with a lot of misconceptions” and hopes to address those misconceptions at the forum.

“I think we as professional economists have a responsibility to spread our knowledge, whatever that is, to the general public,” Witte said.