Attendees at West Virginia’s annual Economic Outlook Conference in Charleston will get an account of the national economy from one of the most influential individuals in the U.S. when it comes to federal economic policy. Jeffrey Lacker, President of the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond and a member of the Federal Open Market Committee, will be the keynote speaker at the 19th Annual West Virginia Economic Outlook Conference, presented by the West Virginia University College of Business and Economics Nov. 15 at the Charleston Civic Center.

This will mark the first time a member of the Federal Reserve Board has appeared at this annual event in its nearly two decades of existence. The conference will include overviews of the global, U.S. and state economies, and will be held from 8 a.m. to noon. Registration and continental breakfast will begin at 8 a.m., followed by the program start at 8:30 a.m.

“We are very privileged to have Mr. Lacker at our annual Economic Outlook Conference in Charleston to provide his perspective of the U.S. economy,” said Dr. “Jose “Zito Sartarelli, Milan Puskar Dean, WVU College of Business and Economics. “He is also a member of the Federal Open Market Committee of the Federal Reserve System, that basically establishes the objectives and implementation of monetary policy for the U.S., and that has both national and international economic importance.”

Sartarelli will provide insight on the global economy, while Dr. Paul Speaker, WVU associate professor of finance and adjunct associate professor of economics, will make the presentation on West Virginia’s economic outlook. The final component of the event will include a panel discussion on various sectors of the West Virginia economy, and will include participation by West Virginia Deputy Revenue Secretary Mark Muchow; Tom Jones, president and CEO of the WV United Healthcare System; and Steve McGowan, Boy Scouts of America, on national and international Boy Scouts events and development in West Virginia.

Lacker, a native of Lexington, Ky., has been president of the Richmond Fed since 2004, when he became the seventh chief executive of the Fifth District Federal Reserve Bank. The district consists of all of West Virginia except for the Northern Panhandle and includes Maryland, D.C., Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina. Lacker has been the subject of recent media coverage due to his dissenting votes at FOMC meetings on the proposed methods the Fed has discussed to bolster the economy. In addition to being a voting member of the FOMC, he also previously voted in 2006 and 2009.

Lacker received a bachelor’s degree in economics from Franklin and Marshall College. Following graduation he joined Wharton Econometrics in Philadelphia, Pa., and went on to earn a doctorate in economics from the University of Wisconsin. Lacker was an assistant professor of economics at the Krannert School of Management at Purdue University, prior to joining the Bank in 1989 as an economist in the banking area of the Research Department. He was named research officer in 1994, vice president in 1996, and senior vice president and director of research in 1999.

The author of numerous articles in professional journals on monetary, financial, and payment economics, Lacker has presented his work at several universities and central banks. In 1992-93, he taught at The College of William and Mary, and in 1997 he was a visiting scholar at the Swiss National Bank.

“When you have access to someone who is participating heavily in forging economic policy for our country, it is extremely valuable to the University community and to the entire state of West Virginia,” Sartarelli said. “We at WVU are very happy Mr. Lacker will be part of our event in Charleston, and we most certainly look forward to hearing his insight on the national economy.”

Registration for the event is $75 per person and includes continental breakfast and all conference materials, including the West Virginia Economic Outlook 2013. Students may attend for $30 with student ID. For further information, visit http://www.be.wvu.edu/bber/index.htm for online registration.

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CONTACT: Patrick Gregg, WVU College of Business and Economics
patrick.gregg@mail.wvu.edu; (304) 293-5131