ECON Celebrates Launch of Maryland Center for Economics and Policy

The Maryland Center for Economics and Policy (MCEP) connects Maryland faculty and students and the policy community—making the policy-relevant research of UMD faculty more accessible; encouraging interchange between faculty, students and policy practitioners; and opening doors for students into the policy world.

MCEP also serves as a hub for faculty research and writing on numerous policy-related issues. Recently highlighted research includes work on longevity annuities; the connection between labor market fluidity and economic performance; the effect of development aid on growth; and the factors that influence teen birth rates.

In March, the Department of Economics celebrated the launch of the MCEP with a special event for alumni, faculty, staff, students and friends in the McKeldin Library Special Events Room.

MCEP Director Professor Katharine Abraham and Maureen Cropper, Distinguished University Professor and Chair of the Department, offered welcoming remarks and outlined the mission of this unique venture.

The event also featured a program, moderated by Professor Abraham, on the Future of Housing Market Policy. The audience heard from three exceptional panelists: alumnus Edward DeMarco of the Milken Institute Center for Financial Markets and former head of the Federal Housing Finance Agency; alumnus Lawrence Yun, Chief Economist of the National Association of Realtors; and Professor of Public Policy and former Assistant Secretary of the Treasury Phillip Swagel.

View the photo gallery.

“This event was a wonderful opportunity for our community to hear from a set of people who have been front and center in rethinking housing policy in the years since the real estate collapse at the start of the recent recession,” Professor Abraham said. “I am very grateful for the support we have received to make this and the rest of the work we are doing possible.”

Learn more at mcep.umd.edu. Make a gift to the MCEP Support Fund.

Published on Thu, Apr 2, 2015 - 9:52AM