Media Contact:
Carrie Conko
Director of Communications
Mercatus Center at George Mason University
Office: 703-993-4899
Email: cconko@gmu.edu
Access Academia: Out of the Ivory Tower and onto the Hill
| Start: | Wednesday, January 24, 2007 11:30 AM |
| End: | Wednesday, January 24, 2007 12:45 PM |
| Location: | B-339 Rayburn House Office Building House Office Building, Interns not Invited |
Many universities and academics are known for their inaccessible scholarship, which their nickname of ‘ivory towers' readily demonstrates. However, the Mercatus Center at George Mason University provides a unique window into that scholarship by uniting the worlds of policy and academia through a variety of educational programs. The Mercatus Center's affiliation with George Mason University enables it to be the premiere provider of university-based resources to Capitol Hill. As a welcome to incoming Congressional staffers and a welcome back to the thousands of staffers who have already attended the Mercatus Center's educational courses, Mercatus hosted a series of welcome events entitled Access Academia, including a luncheon and accompanying reception to kick-off the new Congress.
The luncheon event featured three concurrent presentations on policy issues that are of highly relevant concern to the 110th Congress. Development in Africa, Government Accountability, and Hedge Funds will each play central roles during this policy cycle. The luncheon brought together prominent scholars as well as experienced policymakers that discussed the relevant academic research and economic analyses of these policy concerns.
11:30 a.m. -11:45 a.m. - Opening Address:
The Honorable Timothy Roemer, |
Distinguished Scholar at the Mercatus Center |
Following the introduction, attendees had the opportunity to adjourn to their choice of three programs that addressed the following questions:
Session A: Trade, Aid and Enterprise: Fighting Poverty in Africa
Karol Boudreaux, Mercatus Center Senior Fellow
Click Here to view Ms. Boudreaux's PowerPoint presentation.
- Official development assistance has had insufficient results in Africa, can local enterprise provide a more sustainable means to fight poverty?
- What examples of successful entrepreneurship exist in Africa?
- What constrains entrepreneurship and what might U.S. policy makers consider as they focus on poverty alleviation in Africa
Session B: Government Accountability: Moving Beyond the Rhetoric
The Honorable Maurice McTigue, Mercatus Center Vice President
Click Here to view the Honorable Maurice McTigue's PowerPoint presentation.
- Can Congress find a mechanism to discipline the budget process? Is it PAYGO? What incentives and characteristics does PAYGO bring to the process that were not present in the past? Is an even wider institutional reform necessary to overhaul the budget process?
- What incentives are created by the process of accountability and what rules are necessary to make an accountability process effective?
- What actions does Congress need to take to arrest declining public confidence in the institution of Congress?
Session C: The Economics of Hedge Funds: Principles and Policy
Houman Shadab, Mercatus Center Senior Research Fellow.
Click Here to view Mr. Shadab's PowerPoint presentation.
Click Here to view Mr. Shadab's Handout on the relationship between pensions and hedge funds.
- The unique nature, benefits, and challenges of hedge funds
- The impact of regulation on hedge funds and financial markets
- The role of hedge funds in the changing world of global capital
Later that evening, we invited staff to interact one-on-one with scholars and staff from the Mercatus Center as well as to mingle with other staffers from both sides of the political aisle at the timeless Monocle Restaurant. This reception was a unique opportunity to explore, debate, and challenge the various applications of economic analysis with other staffers and scholars from the Mercatus Center.
If you have any questions regarding this program, please contact Joanna Wilson at 703.993.4997 or jwilsons@gmu.edu.
