Honoring Ned Gramlich and the Importance of Policy Research

Date & time

May 30, 2014, 8:30 am-5:30 pm EDT

Location

With generous support from the Trehan Foundation.

Join in the conversation with the hashtag #fordschoolgramlich

Edward M. (Ned) Gramlich was among the most productive policy economists of his day–a day stretching from the mid-1960s until his death in 2007. In addition to producing academic (often practical) work relevant to dozens of policy issues, he was an accomplished administrator and leader. He was founding dean of the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy at the University of Michigan, and he was a member of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve.

For more information about Ned Gramlich, click here to watch a tribute from his friends and colleagues.

On the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the Ford School (which of course had a different name 100 years ago), the Ford School and Federal Reserve Bank host "Honoring Ned Gramlich and the Importance of Policy Research," a conference that brings together leading practitioners of public policy analysis to illuminate current issues in the spirit of Ned's guiding principle: that good analysis is essential to making and implementing good policy.

Speakers include Betsey Stevenson (keynote), a member of President Obama's Council of Economic Advisers; four former directors of the Congressional Budget Office; and panelists and moderators from a dozen prestigious organizations.

Conference Outline:
 

8:30-9:00Continental Breakfast
9:00Welcome

Susan M. Collins, Joan and Sanford Weill Dean of the Ford School
Paul Courant, Harold T. Shapiro Collegiate Professor of Public Policy
Daniel Covitz, Associate Director Division of Research & Statistics, Federal Reserve
9:10-10:20

Federal programs, budget policy, and income distribution

Panelists:
Sheldon Danziger, Ford School and President, Russell Sage Foundation
William G. Gale, Brookings Institution
Eugene Steuerle, Urban Institute

Moderator:
Marina von Neumann Whitman, University of Michigan

10:20-10:30Break
10:30-11:45

Stabilization Policy and Federal Systems

Panelists:
Michael S. Barr, University of Michigan, former Assistant Secretary of the U.S. Department of Treasury
Gerald A. Carlino, Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia
James Hines, University of Michigan Department of Economics

Moderator:
Byron Lutz, Senior Economist at the Federal Reserve

12:00-1:00

Lunch

1:00-1:45

Keynote Speaker: Betsey Stevenson, Council of Economic Advisers and Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy

2:00-3:15

Consumer Protection and Housing

Panelists:
Robert Avery, Federal Housing Finance Agency
Eric Belsky, Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard
Kenneth D. Wade, Bank of America

Moderator:
Sandra Braunstein, Director of Federal Reserve Consumer and Community Affairs (former)

3:15-3:30Break
3:30-5:15

Reflections on Current Fiscal and Budget Policy: Former Directors of the Congressional Budget Office

Panelists:
Douglas Holtz-Eakin, American Action Forum
June E. O'Neill, Baruch College-CUNY
Rudolph Penner, Urban Institute
Robert D. Reischauer, Urban Institute

Moderator:
Douglas W. Elmendorf, Current CBO Director

5:30Reception