Educacionb

Business Economics Vol. 47, No. 2 r National Association for Business Economics

On the Importance of Education
RICHARD L. WOBBEKINDn The role of education in economic growth has been clearly established. This address is concerned with several issues: What are the benefits and costs of education? Where does the United States stand in educational attainment in historical perspective and relativeto OECD nations? What can NABE as a group do to improve education of business economists? What can NABE individual members do?
Business Economics (2012) 47, 90–96. doi:10.1057/be.2012.5

minutes. I do not plan on abandoning macroeconomics, globalization, or the role and importance of NABE in my address. Rather, my plan is to discuss education in that context. Specifically, my presentation willfollow this outline: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. Education in the growth framework The importance of economic growth Benefits and costs of education Trends in U.S. educational attainment U.S. student achievement Global position of the U.S. education system NABE educational initiative What you can do Conclusion

Keywords: education, productivity, economic growth, competitiveness, educationalattainment

oday I would like to discuss a topic that is near and dear to my heart—a topic that consumes a great amount of my waking hours in one form or another—and that is the current state of education in the United States. I realize that you are more familiar with presidential addresses that enhance your understanding of complex macroeconomic events, globalization, and public policy that aidassociation members in their day-to-day work. However, education is an area where I have comparative advantage. My passion is education, and thus, education is the theme of my comments. Truth be told, education is one of the primary reasons I was chosen to lead this organization. Before there is a mass exit for the doors, please let me expand on my plans for the next few

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I have heard and/orread presidential addresses of the past, and some thoughts presented here draw directly from those speeches. In particular, I will refer to Frank Schott’s address from 1978 [Schott 1979] and Duncan Meldrum’s 2004 presidential comments [Meldrum 2005], both of which discuss education in the NABE context of professional development, mentoring, and certification—topics that I will address further at theend of my address. I think the time is right for NABE to discuss education and how it relates to our organization now and in the future. Membership organizations nationwide have struggled to bring in and retain new and younger members. Our educational initiative, along with several other efforts such as “get connected” and “mentoring,” is designed to deliver more value added to our younger members.NABE Presidential Address, presented at the NABE Annual Meeting in Dallas, TX, September 13, 2011. n Richard L. Wobbekind was the president of the National Association for Business Economics for 2010–2011. He is Executive Director of the Business Research Division and Senior Associate Dean for Academic Programs at the University of Colorado Boulder. He joined the faculty at the Leeds School ofBusiness in 1985, and has served as Associate Dean since 2000. His responsibilities include developing an annual consensus forecast and performing various economic impact assessments of the Colorado economy. Wobbekind also produces the quarterly Leeds Business Confidence Index for Colorado, participates annually in the Kansas City Federal Reserve Bank Regional Economic Roundtable, and is acontributor to the Western Blue Chip Economic Forecast newsletter. He is a member of the Governor’s Revenue Estimating Advisory Committee, the Denver Regional Council of Governments’ Forecast 2035 Advisory Committee, and other state and local councils and has won awards for his teaching, research, and community service. Wobbekind teaches MBA students in macroeconomics, public policy, entrepreneurship,...