This award is for the continued support for the semi-annual meetings of the Universities Research Conference. The purpose of this conference is to bring together economists from across the U.S. for two days of discussion on a specific topic of current interest. Conference topics are chosen for their relevance to current economic policy discussions as well as their interest to academic economists. Recent conferences have focused on monetary policy, trade policy, government spending programs, asset pricing, exchange rate regimes, fiscal policy, and the economics of the environment. The next conference scheduled for this spring will focus on the international comparisons of labor markets. Papers for presentation are solicited from over 70 economics departments and 50 business schools. Conference organizers are careful to select a mix of established and less well known researchers. Discussants and other participants are also chosen to encourage interaction among economists with similar interests at different universities. A typical conference includes 7 to 10 papers and about 80 participants from 40 different universities.
