The UCSD Economics Roundtable is organized by the UCSD Department of Economics in coordination with UCSD Extended Studies and Public Programs. The purpose of the Roundtable is to provide top business professionals and community leaders in the San Diego region with the opportunity to share the views and opinions of renowned experts in the fields of economics, finance, business and public policy. Members of the Roundtable will share insights with their counterparts in the business community and with members of the UCSD faculty.

Schedule of Events

Friday, February 18, 2005
UCSD Faculty Club
7:30 – 9:00 AM
Charles H. Brandes, CFA, Chairman
Brandes Investment Partners
"International Value Investing: Not Following the Crowd"
One of five managing partners, Charles Brandes is responsible for the strategic planning of Brandes Investment Partners, a San Diego based investment advisory firm with over 500 employees worldwide and assets of $85.7 billion under management.

Prior to founding the firm in 1974, Charles Brandes became acquainted with Benjamin Graham, the father of value investing. Graham challenged himself "to distill the secret of sound investment into three words." The three words he chose were "margin of safety." Since its inception, Brandes Investment Partners has applied Benjamin Graham's value investing policy.

Charles Brandes has published three books including "Value Investing Today." He is a graduate of Bucknell University with a B.A. in Economics, and serves on the Board of Directors for the Whittier Institute for Diabetic Research, the Salk Institute for Biological Studies, and the Helen Woodward Animal Center.

Thursday April 14, 2005
UCSD Faculty Club
7:30 – 9:00 AM
John C. Reed, President and CEO
The Burnham Institute
"$3 Billion for Stem Cell Research: Proposition 71 and the California Biotech Industry" Since January 2002, John C. Reed, M.D. Ph.D., has been President and Chief Executive Officer at Burnham Institute, a non-profit biomedical research institute with over 600 employees based in La Jolla. Dr. Reed Joined the Burnham Institute in 1992 from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. The Burnham Institute has become a world leader in stem cell research.

"Stem cell research has been hailed as the most promising medical research frontier for the 21st century," Reed said. In November, 2004 he was appointed to the Independent Citizen's Oversight Committee governing the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine established with the passing of Prop. 71, the California Stem Cell Research and Cures Act. The Institute for Regenerative Medicine will authorize the issuance of $3 billion in state general obligation bonds to provide funding for stem cell research in California.

In addition to his role at The Burnham Institute, Dr. Reed holds adjunct professorships at SDSU and UCSD.

Wednesday July 13, 2005
UCSD Faculty Club
7:30 – 9:00 AM
Clive Granger, Professor Emeritus and Research Professor, UCSD
Robert Engle, Professor Emeritus and Research Professor, UCSD
"A Brief History of Time Series: What Makes UCSD Economics Great"
In 2003, UCSD professors Clive Granger and Robert Engle received Nobel Prizes in Economics for their pioneering work in Econometrics, statistical modeling of economic data.

Granger and Engle are internationally known for their focus on "time-series econometrics," the analysis of data that accrues overtime, such as interest rates, stock market averages, electricity prices, or GDP. Both spent the majority of their academic careers at UCSD where they helped build the Economics Department into the world leader in time series econometrics.

Regarding his research work, Engle says "The main thrust has always been modeling volatility to measure and predict portfolio risk." Granger comments "Concerning my work, I'm always hoping to make research practical and useful. It starts out as a theory but then one aims to move towards the practical end of things."

The two Nobel Prize winners will present their (non-technical) acceptance speeches as they did before the Royal Swedish Academy of Science in 2003.

Wednesday, October 19, 2005
UCSD Institute of Americas, Weaver Videoconference Center
(directions below)
7:30 – 9:00 AM
Dr. Peter Diamond, Professor of Economics
Massachusetts Institute of Technology

"Saving Social Security: A Balanced Approach "
Dr. Peter Diamond is one of the world's most distinguished experts in public finance and economic theory. He has enhanced our understanding of modern public finance, the functioning of financial markets, and the significance of fiscal policy in a growing economy. He has the respect of both theorists and practitioners alike and has brought clarity and rigor to the debate over the future of Social Security in this country. Diamond will present his plan for saving Social Security which reflects on the approach taken for reaching a consensus in the last major reform in 1983. He emphasizes that the Federal Government should not resort to accounting gimmicks, including diverting revenue into individual accounts.

The author of five books including "Social Security Reform" and "Saving Social Security: A Balanced Approach," Professor Diamond is also editor of and author of hundreds of articles and past co-editor of "The Journal of Public Economics." Professor Diamond has held visiting appointments at Churchill College, Cambridge; University College, Nairobi; Hebrew University, Jerusalem; Nuffield College, Oxford; Harvard University and the University of Siena. He received his BA from Yale and his Ph.D. in Economics from MIT. He is currently President of the American Economic Association and has been president of both the Econometric Society and the National Academy of Social Insurance.

Directions to UCSD Institute of Americas, Weaver Videoconference Center
From Freeway 5 take the Genesee exit (West).
Turn left (South) on North Torrey Pines Road.
Turn left (East) on Pangea Drive. You are now on the UCSD Campus.
Follow the signs to the UCSD Economics Roundtable reserved parking area in the Pangea Parking Structure.
Park and follow the pedestrian signs to the Institute of the Americas, Weaver Videoconference Center, see map.

Registration

You can choose one or more Roundtables, or register for the entire series.

Full Series (25% discount) $150.00
Charles H. Brandes $50.00
John C. Reed $50.00
Clive Granger & Robert Engle $50.00
Peter Diamond $50.00

Previous Roundtables

Additional Information & Resources

Roundtable contact: Edie Munk, UCSD Extended Studies and Public Programs, at (858)822-0510, or emunk@ucsd.edu

UCSD Economics Department links: home page; current newsletter

Envision San Diego provides a missing link and a model for debate and discussion in communities across the country that are trying to reinvent themselves for the new global knowledge economy and society.

Acknowledgements

The UCSD Department of Economics gratefully acknowledges the 2004 UCSD Economics Steering Committee for their support:

Mary Walshok, Dean and Associate Vice Chancellor
Extended Studies and Public Programs
University of California, San Diego

The UCSD Economics Roundtable thanks La Jolla Bank, MarketPoint Realty Advisors, UCSD/IRPS, the San Diego Daily Transcript, Sullivan Hill Lewin Rez & Engle, Regents Bank, and UCSD-TV for their generous support of this series.

Economics Roundtable 2005

Schedule of Events

Registration

Previous Roundtables

Additional Information & Resources

Acknowledgements