Tracking the World's Economy
International Business Center
Founded in 1990 as a joint venture of the Joseph M. Katz Graduate School of Business and the University Center for International Studies, the International Business Center (IBC) is a unique resource that develops, operates, and supports programs designed to build international competence and expertise in business students, faculty, and practitioners and help businesses enhance their international competitiveness.
The IBC was one of the initial five national resource Centers for International Business Education and Research (CIBER), funded by the U.S. Department of Education to bring global thinking to faculty and students at select institutions. Today 31 CIBERs operate throughout the United States. Over the years, IBC has used grants to fund faculty research, study abroad scholarship and programs, international business conferences, foreign language instruction, and other important international ventures. More recently, the IBC has developed programs for business and engineering students to study in Brazil, Chile, Germany, China, and India.
Contact:
Josephine Olson, 412-648-1715 (office), jolson@katz.pitt.edu
Pitt News Representative Amanda Leff, 412-624-4238 (office), 412-337-3350 (cell), aleff@pitt.edu
Pittsburgh Experimental Economics Laboratory (PEEL)
You won’t find white lab coats here . . . rather, researchers and undergraduate students testing new economic theories and mechanisms in this state-of-the art facility on the second floor of Posvar Hall. One of the nation’s leading labs of its type, PEEL invites economists to test theories by using simple economic decision-making experiments. From designing new mechanisms to increasing charitable giving to testing auction theory, PEEL has 40 computer workstations and three servers allow for a broad range of instructional or research applications.
Contact:
John Duffy, 412-648-1733 (office), 412-605-7006 (cell), jduffy@pitt.edu, Web site >
Pitt News Representative Sharon Blake, 412,624-4364 (office), 412-277-6926 (cell), blake@pitt.edu
University of Pittsburgh GDP Forecasting Model
Despite the fact that the economy is a gigantic equation with many variables and is susceptible to seemingly random events, its overall performance can be modeled. The University of Pittsburgh Gross Domestic Product (GDP) Forecasting Model—created by Pitt Professors of Economics Jean François Richard and David DeJong, along with Roman Liesenfeld at Kiel University in Germany and Hariharan Dharmarajan of the Washington, D.C.-based economic consulting firm Bates White—can determine the likelihood that the economy will turn upward or downward. Its centerpiece is a “tension index,” a function of the economy’s distance from its sustainable growth rate. The model predicts a likely end to the current recession before the end of 2009.
Contact:
David DeJong, 412-648-2242 (office), dejong@pitt.edu, Web site>
Jean-François Richard, 412-648-1750 (offfice), fantin@pitt.edu, Web site>
Pitt News Representative Sharon Blake, 412,624-4364 (office), 412-277-6926 (cell), blake@pitt.edu