Global economic issues examined in UW-Madison conference

Some of the most critical issues in today’s world economy will be discussed by top national figures in a University of Wisconsin–Madison conference on Thursday, May 1.

"Global Imbalances and the U.S. Dollar: Doing Business in the World Economy," will be held at the Fluno Center for Executive Education, 601 University Ave., from 11:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.

The conference is sponsored by the Center for International Business Education and Research at the Wisconsin School of Business together with the Center for World Affairs and the Global Economy and the Robert M. La Follette School of Public Affairs.

Panelists will cover a variety of questions: Will the U.S. trade deficit shrink? Will China, Saudi Arabia and Russia continue to finance our trade and government budget deficits? Will the value of the dollar continue to fall? What are the global implications of the U.S. financial distress? And, how do these issues affect Midwest firms competing in the global market?

"Understanding what is going to happen to the dollar is important because it will affect the competitiveness of Wisconsin manufactured and agricultural products both domestically and in world markets," says Menzie Chinn, a UW–Madison professor of public affairs and economics and one of the conference moderators. "Business executives also need to be aware of the dollar’s moves in order to take advantage of the opportunities that a weaker dollar presents."

Speakers will include:

• Catherine Mann, senior fellow at the Peter G. Peterson Institute for International Economics;
• Jeffrey A. Frankel, James W. Harpel Professor of Capital Formation and Growth at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government;
• Michael Melvin, managing director at Barclay’s Global Investors;
• Shang-Jin Wei, past chief of the Trade and Investment Division at the International Monetary Fund;
• Charles Engel, UW–Madison professor of business and economics, who will moderate the panels, and;
• Wisconsin School of Business Dean Michael Knetter, who will deliver a keynote address.

This event is co-sponsored by the International Credit Executives Group, Madison International Trade Association, the UW–Madison Department of Economics, the UW–Madison European Union Center of Excellence, the Wisconsin Department of Commerce Bureau of Investment and Export, and World Trade Center Wisconsin.

The $65 registration fee includes lunch, conference materials, and an evening reception.