Institute for Economic Competitiveness

The UCF Institute for Economic Forecasting (IEF) is an economic research institute of the College of Business Administration at the University of Central Florida located in Orlando, Florida, United States. The director of the institute is Sean Snaith.[1]

Institute for Economic Forecasting
Motto"Nationally Recognized, Locally Focused"
TypeResearch Institute
Established1998 (1998)
DirectorDr. Sean Snaith
Location
Orlando
,
Florida
,
United States
WebsiteOfficial Site

The Institute for Economic Forecasting was created to foster a relationship and forum among academia, business, and government, and aims to expand public understanding by convening business leaders, scholars, policy makers, civic groups and media to discuss critical issues.[2] The Institute publishes economic forecasts every quarter for the U.S. and Florida metropolitan areas, as well as providing analysis of the economic impact of current events, such as the 2008 recession[3] and the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.[4]

Faculty

Sean Snaith is the current director of the Institute for Economic Forecasting within the College of Business Administration at the University of Central Florida and a widely recognized economist in the field of business and economic forecasting.

A forecaster, researcher, and professor, Snaith has served as a consultant for local and regional municipalities to multi-national corporations, such as Compaq, Dell and IBM. He has held teaching positions at Pennsylvania State University, American University in Cairo, University of North Dakota and University of the Pacific.[5]

Economic forecasts and research

New economic forecasts are produced and distributed by the Institute every quarter. Each edition provides updated economic information that is vital to the academic, government and business communities.[6] The Institute serves as a single point of contact between commerce and government with economic information resources.

Each year the Institute releases multiple economic reports, with the reports falling into two overall categories. One forecast focuses on the United States and the other focuses on the Florida and its metropolitan areas.[6] U.S. Forecast includes analysis and predictions on GDP, consumer spending, government spending, investments, net exports and unemployment.[7] Forecast information has been featured in the USA Today Survey of Top Economists, Livingston Survey, Survey of Professional Forecasters, Reuters, and Bloomberg monthly surveys.[6] In addition to the U.S. Forecast, the institute prepares a comprehensive, quarterly forecast of the Florida economy and 12 metropolitan areas. Metropolitan areas covered by the forecast include: Pensacola, Tallahassee, Jacksonville, Gainesville, Ocala, Deltona-Daytona Beach, Tampa-St. Petersburg, Lakeland, Orlando-Kissimmee, Palm Bay-Melbourne, Naples-Marco Island, and Miami-Fort Lauderdale.[6]

Research in the media

University and Institute research has appeared in the New York Times, Forbes, U.S. News & World Report, Parenting Magazine and on ABC World News, CBS Evening News and National Public Radio.[8][9] In addition, the Institute's director and forecasts have appeared on national television, including CNN[3] and MSNBC,[10] and have been included in notable publications,[11] such as Reuters,[12] Bloomberg BusinessWeek,[13] The Miami Herald,[14] and The Palm Beach Post.[15]

Special projects

Metro Orlando cleantech report - October 2009

Commissioned by Orange County Mayor Richard T. Crotty, this study assesses Metro Orlando’s Assets, Capabilities, and Potential in the cleantech industry. In this report, the Institute highlights the evolution of the cleantech industry and studies the six major cleantech areas of opportunity for the region, based on the Institute's research. The report also highlights the existing cleantech clusters and initiatives; Metro Orlando’s current strengths, including its natural resources, educational institutions, supporting organizations; the Metro Orlando cleantech industry; its potential for growth, including the region’s economic strengths, the leadership, its R&D capabilities, and its strong technology base. Finally, the report shares the findings of the survey and makes recommendations on the best course of action in the near or medium future, including the policies that could benefit the region.[16]

References
  1. "About the Institute". UCF Institute for Economic Competitiveness. Retrieved July 2010. Check date values in: |access-date= (help)
  2. "UCF Stands for Opportunity". UCF. Archived from the original on 2010-09-22. Retrieved July 2010. Check date values in: |access-date= (help)
  3. La Monica, Paul R. (2008-11-07). "Call it a recession, already". CNN. Retrieved 2010-06-14.
  4. Ellis, Blake (2010-06-08). "Oil Spill Could Cost Florida 195,000 Jobs, $10.9 Billion". CNN. Retrieved 2010-06-14.
  5. "About Dr. Snaith". UCF Institute for Economic Competitiveness. Retrieved July 2010. Check date values in: |access-date= (help)
  6. "Forecasts". UCF Institute for Economic Competitiveness. Retrieved July 2010. Check date values in: |access-date= (help)
  7. "U.S. Forecast - UCF Institute for Economic Competitiveness" (PDF). UCF Institute for Economic Competitiveness. Retrieved July 2010. Check date values in: |access-date= (help)
  8. "UCF Featured Nationally by ABC News, Parenting Magazine, N.Y. Times and More". University of Central Florida. Retrieved 2010-03-24.
  9. "CBS Evening News, New York Times feature UCF". University of Central Florida. Retrieved 2010-03-24.
  10. "In Florida, oil adds to economic woes". NBC News. 2010-06-07. Retrieved 2010-06-14.
  11. "IEC In The Media". UCF Institute for Economic Competitiveness. Retrieved July 2010. Check date values in: |access-date= (help)
  12. "Oil spill ripples through Florida economy". Reuters. 2010-06-09. Retrieved 2010-06-14.
  13. "Florida Appraisers Ask to Cut Value of Gulf Property Hit by Oil". Bloomberg BusinessWeek. 2010-06-09. Retrieved 2010-06-14.
  14. "Report: If Gulf oil spill washes ashore, cost to Florida could be $10B". Miami Herald. 2010-06-08. Retrieved 2010-06-14.
  15. "State sees first dip in jobless rate since 2006". The Palm Beach Post. 2010-05-21. Retrieved 2010-06-14.
  16. "Metro Orlando Cleantech Report - October 2009". UCF Institute for Economic Competitiveness. Retrieved July 2010. Check date values in: |access-date= (help)
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