ERIE HISTORY AND MISSION

Some of the studies that ERIE has undertaken include:

• creation of a sophisticated model to forecast total Erie employment, as well as employment in durables and nondurables manufacturing, total manufacturing, and non-manufacturing industries;
• measurement of labor productivity in Erie’s industries compared to that of the nation;
• three studies of philanthropic giving in the Erie area, and one in the Berks County (Reading) area, sponsored by leading non-profit agencies;
• a model to estimate the cost of living in all 67 counties of Pennsylvania for a state government agency;
• an examination of the effect of Erie's changing industrial structure on the severity of its business cycle; and
• evaluation of survey data on economic development issues for two Pennsylvania communities, sponsored by GTE.

ERIE hosts an annual conference on the Penn State Erie campus each spring that gives an overview of the national, international and regional economies, and provides up-to-date forecasts for the Erie area. The 2003 conference presented data on the severity of the “brain drain” problem in the local area, and the first-ever estimates of labor productivity in the Erie area. These set off a lively debate locally in the following weeks.

ERIE staff have made numerous presentations in the local community, speaking to audiences at the Manufacturer's Association of Northwest Pennsylvania, the Erie Community Foundation, the Erie Chapter of the National Association of Purchasing Management, the Erie Conference on Community Development, and all eleven Leadership Erie classes, among others. ERIE regularly provides information for the print and electronic media in the community.

 ERIE ECONOMISTS

James A. Kurre, Ph.D., Director phone: (814) 898-6266 fax: (814) 898-6223 e-mail: k12@psu.edu Areas of specialization: the Erie economy, regional economics, economic development, spatial cost of living differences, and philanthropy research. Dr. Kurre is an Associate Professor of Economics at Penn State-Erie. He took an undergraduate degree in Economics from the University of Cincinnati, magna cum laude, and completed M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in Economics at Wayne State University in Detroit.
He has been on the faculty at Penn State Erie since 1977, and is the only two-time winner of the college's Excellence in Teaching Award, as well as winning the Excellence in Advising and Excellence in Outreach Awards.  In 2005 he won the University-wide Alumni Teaching Fellow Award, one of only two out of PSU's 5,000 plus faculty.  He has presented over 40 research papers at national and international conferences, and has organized 11 sessions at international conferences. His research has been published in professional journals such as Economic Development Quarterly, Regional Studies, Annals of Regional Science, and Pennsylvania Economic Review, among others. He has completed research contracts with the Center for Rural Pennsylvania, the Erie Community Foundation, the Erie Conference on Community Development, GTE North, and the Pennsylvania Department of Commerce, as well as consulting on lawsuits for wrongful death and loss of earnings. He regularly teaches Introductory Microeconomics, Intermediate Microeconomic Theory, Money and Banking, and Regional Economic Theory and Policy. Locally, he has conducted three studies of philanthropic giving in the Erie area, presented at the opening weekend of Leadership Erie for all eleven years of that program's existence, and is the President of the Board of Directors of the Roadhouse Theatre. He currently is Vice President of AUBER (Association for Univesity Business and Economic Research), a nationwide organization of university research units.  He has served as chair of the Economy Task Force for the Northwest Pennsylvania Workforce Investment Board's State of the Region project, and was a member of the Erie Labor Market Private Industry Council's Skill Needs Committee from 1992 to 1999, and served as an appointed member of the County Council Task Force on Property Tax Reassessment. He regularly works with undergraduate students on his and their research projects. He is also a member of the comedy troupe In All Seriousness. ___________________________________________________________________________
Kerry King, Ph.D., Research Associate phone: (814) 898-6096 fax: (814) 898-6223 e-mail: kak38@psu.edu Ph.D., West Virginia University (2005): Research and teaching interests include public economics, regional and urban economics, applied microeconomics, and the economics of education.
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Kenneth K. T. Louie, Ph.D., Senior Research Associate phone: (814) 898-6265 fax: (814) 898-6223 e-mail: klouie@psu.edu Areas of specialization: international trade and finance, the economics of labor markets, and the economy of China. Dr. Louie is an Associate Professor of Economics at Penn State-Erie and is in charge of the International Business and the Business, Liberal Arts and Science programs. He received his B.A. from Northwestern University and his Ph.D. from the University of Illinois. He has been on the faculty at Penn State Erie since 1984 and has won both the College's Excellence in Teaching and Excellence in Advising Awards. He regularly teaches courses in International Trade and Finance and the Economics of Labor Markets. He has been a Fulbright lecturer to China and a visiting scholar at the Hopkins-Nanjing Center for Chinese and American Studies. He has presented his research at over 20 conferences and seminars in venues including China, France, and the UK, and has been published in Managerial and Decision Economics, the Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization, and the Pennsylvania Economic Review, among others.
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Edward R. Miseta, MBA, Research Associate phone: (814) 898-6333 fax: (814) 898-6223 e-mail: erm105@psu.edu MBA, Penn State Erie (1998): Prior to joining the staff at Penn State Erie, Ed spent ten years in the banking and financial services industry working as a management trainee, auditor, manager of loan operations, and investment consultant. Ed also spent seven years with Corry Publishing as a marketing manager for the newsletter division and as a mass storage writer and editor for both Business Solutions magazine and Mass Storage News.
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Todd Nesbit, Ph.D., Research Associate phone: (814) 898-6326 fax: (814) 898-6223 e-mail: tmn11@psu.edu Ph.D., West Virginia University (2005): Teaching interests include macroeconomics, business statistics, econometrics, and business forecasting.  While at West Virginia University, Dr. Nesbit received the 2004 Vickers Doctoral Student Teaching Award.  Primary research interests include public economics, the economics of taxation, sports economics, and spatial econometrics.
___________________________________________________________________________ Barry R. Weller, Ph.D., Former Director e-mail: brw@psu.edu Areas of specialization: the business cycle and forecasting, with an emphasis on regional employment forecasting, quantitative time-series analysis, and the national economy. Dr. Weller retired from the University in December 2005 with Emeritus status after 35 years with the College. He received his B.S. from Albright College, his M.B.A. from Bucknell University, and his Ph. D. from Penn State University.  He joined the faculty at Penn State Erie in 1971, and is the only two-time winner of the college's Excellence in Advising Award, as well as winning the Excellence in Teaching Award. He has presented technical and invited papers at over 40 regional, national and international conferences, including presentations in Amsterdam, Paris, Stockholm, and Wellington (New Zealand). In addition, he has published articles in professional journals including the International Journal of Forecasting, the Journal of Forecasting, the Journal of Macroeconomics, Social Science Quarterly, Regional Studies, and Economic Development Quarterly, among others. He also serves as a reviewer of statistical forecasting packages for the International Journal of Forecasting. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________

FUNDING SUPPORT

Funding for ERIE’s work has been provided over the years by several sources, some through grants and others through contract work. Current and recent support has been provided by:

• Erie Regional Chamber and Growth Partnership:    http://www.eriechamber.com/
• Erie Community Foundation:    http://www.cferie.org/intro.html
• The Northwest Pennsylvania Workforce Investment Board:    http://www.nwpawib.org/
• Manufacturer’s Association of Northwest Pennsylvania:    http://www.manp.org/
• The Pennsylvania State University at Erie:    http://www.pserie.psu.edu/

The Institute's ongoing research program has been made possible through the support and cooperation of several groups both within and outside the University. Financial support for the establishment of the Institute in 1982 was provided in part by a grant from the Manufacturer's Association of Northwest Pennsylvania. Subsequent funding has come from GPU and the Signature Management Group, as well as later support from the Manufacturer’s Association. Additional support in the form of data contributions or funding for commissioned studies has been provided by various agencies and groups, including Erie Community Foundation which provided important seed capital for this Web site, the Workforce Investment Board of Northwest Pennsylvania through its State of the Region project, the Erie Conference on Community Development (now part of the Erie Regional Chamber and Growth Partnership), United Way of Erie County, Berks County Community Foundation and the Center for Rural Pennsylvania . The University provides staff salaries, library and travel support, research facilities, partial support for student research assistants, and state of the art computer hardware and software.

In order to continue and expand the operations of ERIE over the next few years, we will need financial support from the community. We are looking for sponsors for the annual Erie conference, and partners to fund specific studies. Since we can draw on a large pool of talent in the form of both Penn State Erie faculty and students, ERIE will be able to do more for the community as more funds are available.

Your financial support will enable us to answer important questions for the Erie economy, as well as supporting a number of hard-working undergraduate students. We can also work with you on projects of your choice, for proprietary use. If you have a project that you would like to discuss, or if you are interested in supporting one of the projects that ERIE has on the drawing board, please contact us at 898-6266 or e-mail either of the ERIE Co-Directors.

We may also be able to help you find a good intern for that project you just don’t have time to do yourself, or a good employee who is able to do business analysis and number-crunching.

ERIE’S ANNUAL ECONOMIC CONFERENCES

Be sure to sign up for the ERIE electronic newsletter to receive information about our next conference!

-2009: The Economy: What Happened? ...and What's Next?

• Introduction and Overview of the Conference ,  Dr. James Kurre
• Overview of the Erie Economy and Its Behavior During Recessions , Dr. James Kurre
• Overview of the National Economy (including new forecasts for the Erie Economy) ,  Dr. Todd Nesbit
• Financial Markets & the Current Recession , Ms. Kathleen Madigan, Special Writer-Economics, Dow Jones Newswires
• Today's Auto Industry , Ms. Yuri Unno, Manager, International Trade Strategy, Government & Industry Affairs, Toyota Motor North America Inc.
• The Subprime Mortgage Crisis: Myths and Reality , Dr. Yuliya Demyanyk, Senior Research Economist, Cleveland Federal Reserve Bank

-2007: Local Government and the Erie Economy

• Overview of the Erie Economy ,  Dr. James Kurre
• Overview of the National Economy (including new forecasts for the Erie Economy) ,  Dr. Todd Nesbit
• How Does Local Government Compare in Size? ,  Dr. James Kurre
• Local Government: Consolidation, Cooperation, and/or Competition? ,  Dr. Kathryn A. Foster, Director of the Regional Institute at the University of Buffalo
• Smoke-Free Laws: Economic Issues ,  Dr. Michael R. Pakko, Research Officer and Economist, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
• The Potential Impacts of a Split-Rate Property Tax in the City of Erie , Dr. Kerry King & Dr. Todd Nesbit
• Golf in the Erie Economy ,  Dr. James Kurre
• Labor Productivity in Erie's Manufacturing Industries ,  Dr. James Kurre
• Migration Into and Out of Erie County ,  Dr. James Kurre

-2005: Gambling with Our Future?  The Impact of Gambling on the Erie Area

• The Erie Economy (including Income Inequality in Erie) ,  Dr. James Kurre
• The National Economy (including new forecasts for the Erie Economy) ,  Dr. Barry Weller
• Economic Impacts of Slot Machines for the Erie County Area ,  Dr. William N. Thompson, Professor of Public Administration, University of Nevada, Las Vegas
• Can Gambling Really Create Economic Development? Randall Childs, Economist, Bureau of Business and Economic Research, West Virginia University
• Lessons Learned from Hancock County's Experience with Mountaineer Race Track and Gaming Resort, Mr. John Sorrenti, former County Commissioner for Hancock County, WV. and Training Manager, Mountaineer Race Track and Gaming Resort

-2004: How Can Erie Compete? Technology, Innovation and Productivity in the Erie Economy

The fourth annual ERIE Economic Conference was held at Penn State Erie, The Behrend College on Thursday, May 14, 2003. The attendees heard keynote presentations by Dr. Mark Schweitzer, Assistant Vice President of the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland on "How Technology and Productivity Affect a Manufacturing Economy Like Erie's", and Mr. Richard Overmoyer,
Deputy Secretary of Technology Investment for the PA Department of Community and Economic Development on "The Crucial Role of Technology in Economic Development." ERIE researchers also overviewed the current state of the regional, national and world economies, and presented new year-ahead forecasts for Erie employment.

-2003: The Erie Economy: Brain Drain and the Productivity Paradox

The third annual ERIE Economic Conference was held at Penn State Erie, The Behrend College on Wednesday, May 14, 2003. At this conference the Economic Research Institute of Erie (ERIE) released the first-ever estimates for productivity in Erie—previously a missing piece of the local economic puzzle—and surprising research data on the problem of “brain drain”. The conference also overviewed the current state of the regional, national and world economies, and presented new year-ahead forecasts for Erie employment.

-2002: Erie and the Information Economy

The second annual ERIE Economic Conference was held at Penn State Erie, The Behrend College on Wednesday, March 6, 2002. Along with overviews of the current state of the regional, national and world economies, and new year-ahead forecasts for Erie employment, the conference included a panel of six distinguished Erie businesspeople who shared their special insights into the state of the information economy in Erie. The final session consisted of Erie Mayor Rick Filippi and Erie County Executive Rick Schenker discussing implications of this information for Erie’s future.

-2001: An Economic Odyssey. The Past, Present and Future of the Erie Economy

The first ERIE Economic Conference was held at Penn State Erie, The Behrend College on Friday, March 9, 2001. It set the tone for future conferences with overviews of the current state of the regional, national and world economies, and new year-ahead forecasts for Erie employment. The keynote speaker was Geoffrey Gradler, Economist for the U.S. Senate Banking Committee and Senator Phil Gramm. Mr. Gradler is an alumnus of the Penn State Erie Economics program.

WHAT CAN ERIE DO FOR YOU?

Members of the Economic Research Institute of Erie have expertise in:

• forecasting of business and economic variables
• the Erie economy
• regional economics
• economic development
• labor economics
• international economics
• the Chinese economy

Most especially, we have experience in finding and analyzing data. That’s what we do!

Some of the studies that ERIE has undertaken include:

• estimates of productivity of Erie’s workers through time and across industries, compared to the nation.
• estimates of brain drain and brain gain for Penn State graduates, from Erie County.
• creation of a sophisticated model to forecast total Erie employment, as well as employment in durables and nondurables manufacturing, total manufacturing, and non-manufacturing industries.
• creation of a forecasting model to help manage inventories for a local tire retailer, cutting inventory costs.
• three studies of philanthropic giving in the Erie area, and one in the Berks County (Reading) area, sponsored by leading non-profit agencies.
• a sophisticated econometric model to estimate the cost of living in all 67 counties of Pennsylvania for a state government agency.
• an examination of the effect of Erie’s changing industrial structure on the severity of its business cycle.

We can also do presentations in the community about our work. Typical presentations might include an overview of the Erie or national economies, a discussion of productivity in Erie compared to other places, a discussion of the Chinese economy, or local philanthropy. While our schedules are often pretty full, we may be able to accommodate your needs for a speaker. Give us a call!

While we specialize in economics, we have colleagues at the Black School of Business at Penn State Erie who have expertise in the other areas of business, such as marketing, MIS, management, finance, accounting, business strategy and policy, and statistical analysis. We may be able to help you find the skills you need.

We also have access to some excellent students, if you are looking for a good (paid) intern to help do a project that you just don’t have time to do yourself. This is an especially good way to check out a potential employee on the job, if you’re thinking about hiring in the future. Our students are trained in data handling and analysis, and participate in several hands-on projects with real-world data in our program, and they’re used to working with many of the standard computer software packages. We have former students in major corporations and government agencies around the country, and their employers tell us they are well-prepared for the world of work.

Contact us at 898-6266 or k12@psu.edu. Maybe we can help! Give us an overview of your needs and we can work up a proposal for you.