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Smith
Professors Debate the State of the U.S.
Economy
On Feb. 26, 2008, the MBA Finance
Association of the Robert H. Smith
School of Business at the University of
Maryland hosted a panel discussion on
the current state of the U.S. economy.
About 30 MBA students gathered to listen
to two panelists from the department of
logistics, business, and public policy,
Peter Morici, professor of logistics,
business and public policy, and Curt
Grimm, Dean’s Professor of Supply Chain
and Strategy. The students were invited
to prepare questions for Morici and
Grimm and engage them in discussion
about the challenges facing today’s
economy.
The discussion began with Grimm and
Morici each giving an overview of what
they think are the big challenges facing
the U.S. and world economy and offering
some insights into what they think the
future holds. Covering issues such at
the U.S. trade deficit, currency
devaluation, subprime mortgages, and
credit shortages, Grimm and Morici
painted a picture of the economic
problems that have occurred over the
past few months. Grimm then followed
with his forward looking vision of
cautious optimism that the U.S. can
weather the current issues it faces and
use its strong fundamentals to drive
future growth. Morici colorfully gave
his views that the U.S. and China need
to resolve trade and currency issues and
that the banking industry must practice
more disclosure in order to drive an
economic recovery.
The students in attendance then
queried the panelists on issues of the
strength of the global economy and
globalization, the recent interest rate
cuts and stimulus package in the U.S,
soaring commodity prices, and banking
reform. Both panelists were very candid
in their responses, giving quality
insights to the students while
stimulating further discussion of the
issues. The Finance Association hailed
the panel as a success and plans to
sponsor future discussions on current
economic issues in an effort to keep the
students and faculty engaged in
discussing the global economic
environment.
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Adam Weiner, MBA Candidate 2009, Smith
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