Public Economics Program News

From: James Poterba <poterba_at_MIT.EDU>
Date: Tue, 19 Aug 2008 09:11:18 -0400

Dear Public Economics Program Members -
      It has been a great privilege to lead the NBER Public Economics
Program for the last seventeen years, and I have enjoyed this role
enormously. The active engagement of our program members, the wide
range of research that they undertake, and the constructive tone of
discussion at our program meetings makes the PE program a constant
source of rewarding intellectual interaction and of policy-relevant
research. I regret that my newly-expanded NBER duties make it
impossible for me to continue as Program Director.
       I am delighted to announce that Raj Chetty of Berkeley and Amy
Finkelstein of MIT have agreed to serve as co-directors of the NBER
Public Economics program. Raj and Amy's interests span the field of
public economics and they have many new and interesting ideas for
program initiatives. They have been active program participants and
they are well-respected throughout our diverse group. I am confident
that their dedication, energy, and good judgment will benefit the Public
Economics Program and its members for many years to come. I hope that
you will join me in welcoming them to their new roles.
       I am also delighted to inform you that Jeffrey Brown of the
University of Illinois has agreed to serve as the organizer of the
annual Tax Policy and the Economy conference. Jeff brings both
outstanding research experience and experience in the Washington policy
process to this role, and I look forward to the future growth and
development of "TP&E" under his leadership. I know that the next few
years will provide many interesting topics for analysis at this meeting,
and I hope that you will let Jeff know if and when you have research
that would be suitable for presentation in the TP&E setting.
       Let me close this note with a few details about future program
activities. The next PE program meeting is scheduled for November 6-7,
2008, and it will be held at Stanford. Raj Chetty and Emmanuel Saez are
the co-organizers, and you should be receiving a call for papers
shortly. Our program meetings for 2009 are scheduled for April 2-3 and
October 29-30. Both will be held in Cambridge. The 2009 Summer
Institute will take place during the week of July 20.
       All best wishes for the balance of the summer, and for the
upcoming fall semester. Thank you, as always, for your active
participation in the NBER.
Jim
Received on Tue Aug 19 2008 - 09:11:18 EDT