An important part of the Purdue University Research Center in Economics' (PURCE) mission is the sharing of our research findings so they have an impact on the well-being of people and society. PURCE regularly hosts informational events for the general public and also for select audiences, including lawmakers and fellow academics.
Find details about upcoming events by visiting our Events page. The majority of our events take place on Purdue’s West Lafayette campus. If you would like to join us, please join our mailing list by emailing purce@purdue.edu.
Continue reading for a digest of past PURCE events.
Our center hosts an Economic Policy Luncheon series featuring a faculty member presenting their latest research findings. Local business leaders, community members, elected officials, and fellow academics attend to discuss PURCE research area topics.
MAR 2026
"Our Nation’s Rising Debt & a Possible Fiscal Checkmate"
Feb 2026
"Economic Analysis in Policymaking"
JAN 2026
"Prediction & Sports Betting Markets"
DEC 2025
"Medicaid Expansion & Federal Transfers"
NOV 2025
"Trumponomics: Grades Heading into the Midterm"
OCT 2025
"Is the FHA Producing Sustainable Homeownership?"
AUG 2025
"Five Myths About the Economics and Future of Higher Education"
April 2025
"Trump 2.0, Tariffs and Trade"
Mar 2025
"Taxes, Benefits, and the Inequality of Income"
FEB 2025
"Early U.S. Exceptionalism in Automobile Manufacturing"
JAN 2025
"Can Housing be too Safe?"
DEC 2024
"The Jones Act: Ineffective and Inefficient, but also Unfair"
NOV 2024
"Is Work Stress Real?"
What may lead to work stress, how bad can it get, and who is most at risk? Professor of Economics Chong Xiang addressed these questions, citing his recently published research paper.
OCT 2024
"Designing Prudent Policies in the Face of Uncertainty"
SEP 2024
"Status of the U.S. Economy"
Dr. Samuel R. Allen Dean Jim Bullard started off the academic year with an overview of his research and some insights on the current state of the economy.
APR 2024
"U.S. Protectionism from Trump to Biden"
PURCE faculty affiliate and Associate Professor of Economics Anson Soderbery discussed the motivation for and effects of U.S. tariffs targeting China.
MAR 2024
"The Changing Nature and Role of Payment Systems"
PURCE faculty affiliate and Associate Professor of Economics Cathy Zhang addressed how the way we pay for things is a key component of an economy's infrastructure and serves a crucial role in facilitating trade and supporting growth.
FEB 2024
"Causes and Consequences of Racial Gaps in
Elementary School, College, and the Labor Market"
PURCE faculty affiliate Tim Bond discussed “Causes and Consequences of Racial Gaps in
Elementary School, College, and the Labor Market.”
JAN 2024
"Urgent Global Challenges"
Special guest David Malpass, the Daniels School’s Distinguished Fellow of International Finance, discussed urgent global challenges.
DEC 2023
"The College-Going Rate in Indiana is
Decreasing: Why?"
PURCE Director Kevin Mumford’s talk addressed “The College-Going Rate in Indiana is
Decreasing: Why?"
NOV 2023
"Regulating Tech"
Affiliate Mohammad Rahman, Daniels School Chair in Management, addressed
regulating tech companies.
OCT 2023
"Measuring Crime"
Jillian Carr presented on measuring crime, and the different statistics we can use to
measure crime, how they capture different phenomena, and how they can be used and abused to justify policy decisions.
SEP 2023
"Urbanization in Developing Countries"
Ben Zou addressed “Urbanization in Developing Countries."
APR 2023
"Creating a Center for Economics"
John Umbeck is a celebrated economic professor, public speaker, and researcher at the Daniels School of Business at Purdue. He co-founded PURCE.
MAR 2023
"Technology Innovation & Real Estate Markets"
Assistant Professor of Economics Lindsay Relihan gave a talk on “Technology Innovation &
Real Estate Markets.”
FEB 2023
"The Opioid Crisis: Policy Options"
Tim Moore, a professor and researcher in the areas of public finance and health
economics whose interests include understanding illicit drug markets and risky behaviors, talked about “The Opioid Crisis: Policy Options.”
JAN 2023
"Economic Policymaking in the White House"
Aaron Hedlund gave us an insider’s view of “Economic Policymaking in the White House.”
DEC 2022
"The (Sometimes) Counterintuitive World of Taxation"
Trevor Gallen discussed “The (Sometimes) Counterintuitive World of Taxation.”
NOV 2022
"The Long-Lasting Benefits of Childhood Creativity"
Magner Chair and Professor of Economics Victoria Prowse talked about “The Long-
Lasting Benefits of Childhood Creativity.”
OCT 2022
"The Changing Location of Affordable Housing in Indiana"
Mike Eriksen, director of the school’s Dean V. White Real Estate Finance Program,
discussed “The Changing Location of Affordable Housing in Indiana.”
SEP 2022
"U.S. Fiscal Policy: Past, Present and Future"
Mario Crucini told us about “U.S. Fiscal Policy: Past, Present and Future.”
APR 2022
"A Federal Tax and Transfer System by Design"
Guest speaker James R. Nunns is an associate in the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center at the Urban Institute who earned both his master's and a PhD in Economics from Purdue.
MAR 2022
"Antitrust in a Time of Populism: After the Big Five"
Professor of Economics Dr. Stephen Martin discussed the forces behind calls for extending the scope of antitrust policy and the prospects for change in light of the rise of MAMAA (Microsoft, Alphabet (Google), Meta (Facebook), Amazon, Apple).
FEB 2022
"New Tools for Measuring Labor Market Discrimination"
Assistant Professor of Economics Dr. Colin Sullivan discussed the challenges of measuring gender and racial discrimination and some ongoing studies involving resumes — who gets that phone call requesting an interview for a job?
JAN 2022
"Understanding Recent Supply Chain Challenges"
Dr. Ananth Iyer addressed ways to understand supply chain challenges and explored steps companies are taking to manage these challenges.
DEC 2021
"Property Taxes & Local Government Budgets: What's the Outlook?"
Agricultural Economics Professor Emeritus Larry DeBoer discussed Indiana's property tax assessment procedures controls and the budgetary outlook for local governments, which rely heavily on property taxes.
NOV 2021
"The Revolving Door Between Government & Private Sector"
Dr. Mara Faccio, the Tom and Patty Hefner Chair in Finance, spoke about just how common the government-private sector revolving door phenomenon is in the U.S. and data that shows systematic corruption is not widespread.
OCT 2021
"Demystifying Money, Cryptocurrency, and Central Bank Digital Currency"
PURCE faculty affiliate Dr. Cathy Zhang discussed the changing payment landscape and the role of cryptocurrencies. Traditional forms of money are evolving, and policymakers have expressed concern this could have negative consequences for financial inclusion and the conduct of monetary policy.
SEP 2021
"Interlinked Contests & Decision Making"
Dr. Brian Roberson examined some takeaways from research on environments with a set of interlinked contests. He discussed recent research that highlights the potential gains, arising in such environments, in moving from centralized decision making to decentralized decision making.
We shifted to online events. Our popular luncheons became webinars, and we offered these interactive virtual sessions:
"The Effects of the Trump Tax Cuts on Households and Firms"
Kevin Mumford
Kozuch Director of PURCE and Associate Professor of Economics
"Reshaping U.S. Higher Education in the Face of Globalization"
David Hummels
Dr. Samuel R. Allen Dean of the Krannert School of Management and Distinguished Professor of Economics
"The Opioid Crisis and Declining Life Expectancy in America"
Tim Moore
Associate Professor of Economics
"The Sad Truth About Measuring Happiness and Other Things"
Tim Bond
Associate Professor of Economics
"Oh SNAP!: How Government Policies Can Make Crime Less Appealing"
Jillian Carr
Assistant Professor of Economics
"A Guide to the Trump Tariffs and their Impact"
Chong Xiang
Professor of Economics
"Government Deficits and Debt: Why They’re so Large and Why They Matter"
Special Guest Dr. Keith Hall
"U.S. Income Inequality: What Do We Know?"
Trevor Gallen
Assistant Professor of Economics
"Income Share Agreements: The Wave of the Future?"
Kevin Mumford
Kozuch Director of PURCE and Associate Professor of Economics
"The Trump Tariffs: What Economic Incentives are at Play?"
Anson Soderbery
Associate Professor of Economics
"Competition Policy & Anticompetitive Mergers"
Joe Mazur
Assistant Professor of Economics
April 2023
Aaron Hedlund presented on the most up-to-date research findings on higher education
outcomes for students, the drivers of college costs, and the impact of universities on the state and local economy — both through direct economic spillovers and through their effect on educational
attainment.
March 2023
Kevin Mumford talked about the significant and steady drop in the proportion of high school
graduates enrolling in college.
February 2023
Tim Moore shared his expertise on the current state of the opioid crisis.
February 2022
Cathy Zhang presented on cryptocurrencies and the future of money.
January 2022
Miguel Sarzosa shared data about the long-term consequences of bullying in
middle/intermediate school.
Kevin Mumford presented and facilitated a discussion on “Resignations, Retirements, and
the Labor Shortage.”
April 2021
Professor Susan Lu gave a virtual presentation on state regulations of telemedicine visits.
March 2021
Victoria Prowse spoke via Zoom about the cost and effectiveness of unemployment insurance
in the time of COVID.
Special guest speaker Roberto Gallardo spoke virtually about broadband adoption in rural
communities.
February 2021
On Zoom, Kevin Mumford presented on how COVID has affected employment, by
occupation and more.
Miguel Sarzosa gave a virtual presentation on possible student remediation efforts that
could address COVID-related skill loss in children.
January 2021
Jillian Carr’s Zoom focused on the SAT and some colleges’ decision to become SAT
optional.
March 2020
David Hummels spoke about U.S. tariffs and their effect on Hoosier consumers and producers.
February 2020
Kevin Mumford summarized what is known about teacher pay-for-performance.
Jillian Carr presented data and policy design ideas related to SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program).
PURCE hosts special guests who meet with faculty and students and present at public talks. Past guests include President of the American Enterprise Institute Robert Doar; Georgetown University Professor of Practice Keith Hall; and renowned Princeton economists Dr. Anne Case and Nobel Laureate Sir Angus Deaton.
In 2018 and 2019 PURCE hosted an Economic Ideas Forum, a day-long event that brought together students, faculty and community, business and government leaders for discussions on crucial economic topics. Special guest presenters included Nobel Prize winning American economist James Heckman and preeminent economic historian of U.S. trade and trade policy Dr. Doug Irwin.
