Conference Program

8:00 a.m.

Registration & Breakfast

Words of Welcome 

H. Fenwick Huss
[read bio]
Dean
J. Mack Robinson College of Business
Georgia State Univeristy

8:35 a.m.

Testing the Limits of Resilient Consumers 
Consumer spending during 2008 will depend on prospective changes in four factors. The first factor revolves around falling home prices and rising credit standards. The second factor involves high fuel, food, and utility prices. The third set of issues involves the record high debt and record low savings of consumers. Job and wage growth represent the final set of concerns. How consumers judge prospects on these factors will determine the strength of the overall economy givenn that consumers account for 70% of total GDP. This presentation will detail consumers' assessments of each of these factors and provide a forecast of total consumer spending in 2008.

Richard Curtin
[read bio]
Director
Survey of Consumers
University of Michigan

California's Housing and Economic Outlook
Residential real estate boom has turned into a bust and is dragging down growth in both national and state economies. California's economy disproportionately benefited from growth in construction and mortgage industries is more vulnerable to this cycle. How long will the housing adjustment last and how much damage will be done on the economy? What is the likelihood of broad-based slowdown/recession?

Esmael Adibi
[read bio] 
Director
A. Gary Anderson Center for Economic Research
Chapman University 
 

9:15 a.m.

State of the Atlanta Housing Market
The housing market intelligence firm (called Metrostudy) will discuss how the region has been performing in the area of new housing. Their discussion will cover housing starts and closings in the Atlanta region as well as current inventory on houses built but unsold, currently under construction, as well as developed lot inventory levels.

Eugene James
[read bio]
Director 
Atlanta Region
Metrostudy

9:55 a.m.

Q & A

10:10 a.m.

Refreshments Break

10:30 a.m.

Forecast of The Nation, State and the Region

Rajeev Dhawan
[read bio]
Director
Economic Forecasting Center
J. Mack Robinson College of Business
Georgia State University

11:30 a.m.

Final Remarks and Q&A

11:40 a.m.

Light lunch and Networking

Industry Speakers

Richard Curtin
Director
Survey of Consumers
University of Michigan

 

BIO- Richard Curtin is a Research Professor and the Director of the Surveys of Consumers at the Survey Research Center, The University of Michigan, since 1976.

Professor Curtin's monthly report on consumer confidence is one of the most closely followed economic indicators, with findings from his research extensively reported in the international media. His research is widely used by businesses and financial institutions, by federal agencies responsible for monetary and fiscal policies, as well as by academic
researchers. Data from the University of Michigan's Surveys ofConsumers is an official component of the Index of Leading Economic Indicators.

Through frequent presentations and published articles, Professor Curtin has reported on his research in behavioral economics, including the theory and measurement of expectations, consumer saving and spending behavior, household income and wealth, reactions to changing economic opportunities, and public policy preferences. He has published more than 500 reports on trends in consumer expectations and their implications
for changes in consumer spending and saving behavior. Professor Curtin has consulted with hundreds of corporations on issues related to future trends in consumer preferences and purchases.

The success of his research has prompted more than three dozen other countries to implement surveys of consumer confidence patterned after the University of Michigan's. During the past five years, Professor Curtin has consulted with scholars and government officials in several countries, helping to establish consumer surveys in China, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Jamaica, Indonesia, Russia, and Trinidad.

He is a member of the American Economic Association, the National Association for Business Economics, the Association for Consumer Research, the International Association for Research in Economic Psychology, and a member of the Center for International Research on Economic Tendency Surveys. He is the Associate Editor of the Journal of Business Cycle Measurement and Analysis. Dr. Curtin received his Ph.D. in economics from the University of Michigan in 1975.

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BIO- director of the A. Gary Anderson Center for Economic Research and Anderson Chair of Economic Analysis at Chapman University, received his doctorate degree in Economics from Claremont Graduate University.  He joined the Chapman faculty in 1978, and was appointed director of the A. Gary Anderson Center for Economic Research in 1985.

His research interests include macroeconomics, financial markets, and regional economics.  Dr. Adibi has co-authored two textbooks, Econometric Analysis - An Applications Approach, and The Practice of Econometrics with EViews.  His articles have been published in newspapers including The Los Angeles Times, and the Orange County Register, as well as professional journals such as International Advances in Economic Research, the Journal of Private Enterprise, and the Quarterly Journal of Business and Economics.

Dr. Adibi is past president of the Association for University Business and Economic Research.  He is a member of the NABE Outlook Survey Panel and Western Blue Chip Economic Forecast Panel.  He serves on the board of managers of the "OCTFCU Mortgage Company" and is a member of California Controller's Council of Economic Advisors.

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Eugene James
Director
Atlanta Region 

BIO- Eugene James is the Director of Metrostudy's Atlanta region. He has 21 years of real estate experience, and prior to joining Metrostudy, he served in various analytical and managerial capacities in the property tax appraisal industry.

As a property tax official in both the public and private sector, Eugene played a key role in appraising over one million properties in various parts of the country. He was the Chief Appraiser for both Dekalb and Fulton County and while in the private sector he conducted the reappraisal of Gwinnett County as well as Long Island New York.

Eugene has led numerous studies in both the residential and commercial real estate market including subdivision valuation, feasibility analysis and highest and best use of land.

He served as the State of Georgia's representative for the International Association of Assessment Officers; was an elected board member for the Georgia Association of Assessing Officials; and served on the Education Steering Committee for the Georgia Department of Revenue.

Eugene received a B.S. degree in Business Management from the University of the District of Columbia, is a licensed Georgia real estate broker and is affiliated with numerous professional real estate organizations, including the Atlanta Homebuilders Association, the Atlanta Board of Realtors and the Appraisal Institute. 

Eugene lives in Atlanta, is married and has a 3 year old son and a 2  year old daughter.

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Ewoud Swaak
Partner &
President - U.S. Operations
Westplan Investors

BIO- Ewoud Swaak is responsible for the acquisition and asset management of the US operations of Westplan Investors.

Mr. Swaak founded the Company in 1994 and began structuring US real estate investments in 1996. Prior to moving to the U.S. in 2002, Mr. Swaak was also responsible for structuring and developing real estate projects focused on in-fill, multi-family, and residential projects in the Netherlands. Prior to founding Westplan, Mr. Swaak co-founded HRS Makelaardij (real estate agency) in 1991 in the Netherlands; he sold HRS Makelaardij  in 1997.

He earned a Masters of Science in Economics from the Erasmus University in Rotterdam and studied Real Estate Science at Georgia State University in Atlanta, GA.

Mr. Swaak serves as Honorary Consul of the Netherlands for Georgia and South Carolina and is a board member of the (Young) Entrepreneurs Organization.

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