Remaking Manufacturing

An Agenda for Shared Prosperity forum

Wednesday, February 13, 2008
8:30 - 11:30 AM
EPI, 1333 H Street, NW; East Tower, Suite 300, Washington, DC

American manufacturing, although rocked by a decade of rapid import growth and job loss, remains a bulwark of the U.S. economy:

• One-tenth of all U.S. jobs in 2007 and over 12% of total GDP in 2006.

• Over half of all spending on research and development (60% of the U.S. total in 2003).

• 9% of manufacturing employment is scientists and engineers – a source of high productivity.

• For non-college educated workers manufacturing is a crucial source of good, often highly skilled jobs at solidly middle-class wages.

Please join us for a lively discussion of policy strategies to securing the future of manufacturing in the U.S. while helping to meet national goals, such as energy independence and reduced greenhouse gas emissions.  (RSVP below.)

Registration & Breakfast
8:30-9:00 AM
Presentations & Discussion
9:00-11:30 AM

Keynote: Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH)
As a Senator from an important manufacturing state, Sen. Brown is deeply interested in economic policy and its impact on manufacturing jobs. An advocate for alternative energy as well, he wrote his home state's first solar energy law in 1977.  

Moderator: Louis Uchitelle
At The New York Times since 1980, Uchitelle covers business, labor, and economics. He was the lead reporter for the Times series "The Downsizing of America," which won a George Polk Award in 1996. His recent book, The Disposable American: Layoffs and Their Consequences is published by Alfred A. Knopf.

Presenters:
Susan Helper
AT&T Professor of Economics, Case Western Reserve University
Research Associate, National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)
Research Associate, MIT International Motor Vehicle Program (IMVP)
Renewing U.S. Manufacturing: Promoting a High-Road Strategy
Helper's paper focuses on strategies for meeting national goals through a revitalized manufacturing sector.  

George Sterzinger
Executive Director, Renewable Energy Policy Project
Formerly Commissioner, Vermont Department of Public Service
Energizing Prosperity: Renewable Energy and Re-Industrialization
Sterzinger emphasizes the importance of a strong domestic manufacturing sector in promoting renewable energy and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Questions about this event? Contact events@epi.org.