Dear Members and Friends of the NBER Productivity Program:
I hope to see most of you at the various Summer Institute Productivity
Program meetings that begin next Monday, and that continue through Friday,
July 25. In advance of your coming to Cambridge, and for those of you who
will not be able to come, I'd like to raise a few issues, and invite your
feedback - either via email or in person during the Summer Institute. Some
of the issues are ones that Jim Poterba may already have raised with you in
a recent email.
First, for those of you with a formal NBER affiliation, a near term issue
involves the nomination of new Faculty Research Fellows for the Productivity
Program. The nomination process is straightforward. Just send me an email,
write several paragraphs describing the nominee's research contributions,
and either attach or provide me with the URL to access an up-to-date
curriculum vita. Most new program members join at the FRF level, although
it is also possible to nominate potential Research Associates (typically,
tenured faculty). Think about junior colleagues or former students who
might be particularly suitable for the Productivity Program. An advisory
committee consisting of Tim Bresnahan, Iain Cockburn, Ariel Pakes and me
reviews the nominations and recommends new appointments to Jim Poterba.
This calendar year the Productivity Program has been allocated up to three
Faculty Research Fellow and up to three Research Associate positions to
fill, and to date no new positions have been filled. The Research Associate
position requires approval by the Board of Directors, either at the April or
September meeting. Since nominations are due to Jim Poterba by August 8,
2008 for his consideration prior to the September 2008 Board of Directors
meeting, please send me any nominations before August 1, 2008.
Second, beginning July 28, Alterra Milone (alterra_at_nber.org) will be the
NBER's full time new Director of Grant Administration, succeeding Sue
Colligan who decided to explore new and very different opportunities.
Alterra joins NBER from the Engineering Systems Division at MIT, and brings
to us a wealth of experienced economics grant administration. She not only
will preserve but will also enhance the NBER's reputation as an efficient
and supportive home for research grants. I'm sure you'll enjoy working with
Alterra. She'll be at the NBER one day a week during July, so if you are
planning to apply for a research grant in the near future, please be sure to
contact her. In particular, if you are planning to apply for an NSF grant
in the August 2008 submission cycle, make sure you contact her in advance of
the deadline.
Third, on July 24, we will gather at the Royal Sonesta in Cambridge to
celebrate Marty Feldstein's remarkable and stellar leadership of the NBER.
Organizers plan to present him with a collection of "thank you letters" from
NBER affiliates. If you would like to contribute to this collection, it
would be best to mail your letter via snail mail, on letterhead stationery,
to Ms. Gerri Johnson, NBER, 1050 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge, MA 02138.
You could also email a message to Gerri (gjohnson_at_nber.org), who can print
your message and include it in the collection. Your contribution will help
to make this a very special collection.
Finally, for both the NBER and CRIW membership, I have a favor to ask of
each of you. It has been an annual tradition for many years that during the
Summer Institute, the various NBER program directors meet with Marty
Feldstein for an annual program review. This year will be the first with
Jim Poterba. Jim has asked that program directors give more thought to this
year's review meeting than to the usual one. Quoting Jim, "I would like to
know what research areas within your program seem particularly promising,
where there may be opportunities for top-down NBER projects, and who within
the program would be suitable to lead such projects. I am also looking
forward to learning more about the substantive activities of various
programs, particularly those that I have had relatively little interaction
with in the past." Could you please give some thought to these issues, and
share your ideas with me before I meet with Jim on July 30? Obviously, one
of the very unique aspects of the Productivity Program is the joint meetings
with the Conference on Research in Income and Wealth, that foster extensive
interactions among economists and statisticians from academia, government
and the private sector interested in economic measurement issues. If you
have any thoughts on how this valuable set of interactions might be
enhanced, please let me know.
I look forward to seeing you soon, or at least, communicating with you if
you won't be at the Summer Institute in Cambridge this summer.
Ernie
Received on Thu Jul 10 2008 - 15:30:17 EDT
