Association for University
Business and Economic Research

A national association of regional
economic research centers

Roundtable: The Economic Impact of Covid-19 on Regional Economies – July 16, 3 PM EST

Watch the full roundtable session here.

View Peter Evangelakis’s presentation here.

View Chris Christoper’s presentation here.

View Terry Rephann’s presentation here.

View Chris Brown’s presentation here.

The COVID-19 pandemic has precipitated a deep economic crisis across the U.S., but its effects have not been felt evenly. States and cities have been affected differentially, both as a result of the virus’s natural dynamics (e.g., hitting the tightly packed travel hub of NYC particularly hard early on) and policy responses (e.g., stay-at-home orders, economic shutdowns, re-openings) that varied widely across jurisdictions. As the nation continues to chart its path forward, it is important to understand not only the top-level impacts of the economic recession, but also how those impacts differ from region to region.

As such, we will be joined by Dr. Peter Evangelakis, Vice President of Economics at REMI, Dr. Chris Christopher, Chief Economist at the New York State Division of Budget, Dr. Terry Rephann, Regional Economist at the Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service at the University of Virginia, and Mr. Christopher Brown, Director of Policy and Research at the Common Sense Institute, to discuss the national and regional impacts of COVID-19.

When: Thursday, July 16th at 3 p.m. EST

Welcome: AUBER President Patrick Barkey, Director, Bureau of Business and Economic Research, University of Montana

Featured Speakers: Dr. Peter Evangelakis, Vice President of Economics at REMI; Dr. Chris Christopher, Chief Economist at the New York State Division of Budget; Dr. Terry Rephann, Regional Economist at the Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service at the University of Virginia; and Mr. Christopher Brown, Director of Policy and Research at the Common Sense Institute

About Peter Evangelakis

Peter Evangelakis, Ph.D. is Vice President of Economics at REMI. Since joining REMI in September 2017, he has managed REMI’s team of economists, assisted clients in planning and conducting economic analysis using the REMI model, contributed to the firm’s business development efforts, run REMI’s consulting practice and served as Principal Investigator on numerous projects, managed the development of several new pieces of modeling software, and prepared and presented at in-person and online REMI seminars and professional conferences, and in front of legislative committees. Dr. Evangelakis is based at REMI’s Washington, D.C. office.

Prior to starting at REMI, Dr. Evangelakis taught undergraduate Intermediate Microeconomics as a Lecturer at the University of Chicago. He is an experienced Economic Researcher and Analyst; highlights of his work include measuring the effects of climate change on mortality and electricity usage and estimating air quality effects of the NOx Budget Program. Dr. Evangelakis has written papers analyzing the effects of Florida property tax reform and the non-pecuniary benefits of building a professional sports stadium. He also served as an Intern at The Washington Economics Group, Inc., and The Human Services Coalition of Miami-Dade County.

Dr. Evangelakis is also Vice President of Programming for the National Economists Club (NEC), a non-profit educational club founded in 1968 by Herb Stein that is now affiliated with the National Association of Business Economists (NABE). In that role, Dr. Evangelakis has planned and coordinated NEC lunches, webinars, and happy hours. This has included helping to shape the annual programming agenda, reaching out to potential speakers, moderating Q&A sessions, and performing event follow-up. He also represented the NEC at the 2020 NABE Economic Policy Conference.

Dr. Evangelakis holds Ph.D. and Master’s degrees in Economics from University of Chicago and a Bachelor’s degree in Economics and Mathematics from Swarthmore College.

About Chris Christopher

Chris G. Christopher, Jr., Ph.D, CBE,  is the Chief Economist at New York State Division of the Budget (DOB) since early 2019. Prior to joining NYS DOB, Christopher was an Executive Director in the US Macro and Global Economics services of IHS Markit. He was a leading member of the US Macro forecasting team and directed a couple of forecasting services for IHS Markit. Prior to joining IHS Markit, Christopher worked for FedEx Services in the forecasting department and as the Chief Econometrician for OIT developing national and regional econometric models. In addition, he worked as a research economist at Regional Economic Models, Inc. (REMI); the New York State Legislative Tax Study Commission; and as an associate professor, administrator, and university lecturer in econometrics, economics, and business. Christopher holds a Bachelor of Arts in economics and political science, Master of Arts in economics, Doctor of Philosophy in economics from the University at Albany.  Dr. Christopher has taught graduate and undergraduate courses at various colleges and universities. He is a member of the National Association of Business Economists (NABE). In addition, Chris is a NABE Certified Business Economist (CBE), Consensus Economics 2013 forecast accuracy award winner (US GDP & CPI) and member of the team that was awarded the Klein Award for Blue Chip Forecast Accuracy – best January forecast for GDP, CPI, and Unemployment Rate 2013, 2014, 2015, and 2016.

About Terry Rephann

Terry Rephann, Ph.D. is a Regional Economist at the Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service at the University of Virginia where he has worked since 2007.  Much of his research focuses on the Virginia economy. Recent studies have examined such varied topics as the agriculture and forest industries, the horse industry, outdoor recreation participation, transfer of development rights programs, affordable housing, health care reform, oral health, and public higher education in the Commonwealth. He has also published papers in a variety of economics, planning, and public policy journals on the subjects of local economic impact analysis, education, and crime.

Prior to his Cooper Center appointment, Dr. Rephann was the Director of Institutional Research at Allegany College of Maryland and Senior Scientist at the Spatial Modelling Centre in Kiruna, Sweden.  He also served seven years on City Council in Cumberland, Maryland as well as the Parks and Recreation, Economic Development and Neighborhood Advisory Commissions.  Since moving to Virginia, he has served on the Albemarle County Fiscal Impact Committee.

Dr. Rephann earned his B.A. in Economics and Mathematics from Frostburg State University in 1986 and his M.A. and Ph.D. in Economics from West Virginia University in 1993.

About Chris Brown

Chris Brown is the Director of Policy and Research with the Common Sense Institute where he leads the research efforts of CSI to provide insightful, accurate and actionable information on the implications of public policy issues throughout the state of Colorado.

Prior to joining CSI in September of 2017, Chris spent close to a decade working for REMI (Regional Economic Models Inc).  In 2011, he established REMI’s Washington, DC office and oversaw the growth of the company in the nation’s capital and lead numerous engagements on both federal and regional policy issues.  Highlights of Brown’s work cover modeling the fiscal and economic impacts of Medicaid expansion in eight states and evaluating the economic impact of major air quality regulation in Washington state.  He also helped forecast the state-by-state economic effects of budget sequestration with Third Way, a centrist think tank, and examined a small business tax credit proposal for the U.S. Senate.

Since joining CSI, Chris has led several reports on a range of policy and economic issues facing the state of Colorado including, measuring the impacts of potential 1% growth-caps imposed in the state’s major metro areas, analyzing the need and options for PERA reform,  simulating the economic impacts if Colorado schools were #1 and measuring the economic and fiscal impacts of a 2,500-ft setback for new oil and gas drilling.

About Patrick Barkey

Patrick Barkey has served as Director of the Bureau of Business and Economic Research since 2008. He has been involved with economic forecasting and policy research for more than 30 years, in both the private and public sectors.

Before coming to Montana he served as Director of the Bureau of Business Research at Ball State University in Indiana for fourteen years. His recent research has been on the economic impact of energy development, the property tax treatment of the telecommunications industry and the economic impact of trade with Canada. He holds a B.A. and a Ph.D. in economics from the University of Michigan.

 

July 16, 2020

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