UK to Host 31st Annual Economic Outlook Conference Feb. 12

What is the outlook for Kentucky’s economy in 2020? Should investors be confident about how the stock market will perform this year or concerned?

Questions like these and many more will be addressed by a panel of experts Wednesday, Feb. 12, as the University of Kentucky hosts the 31st annual Economic Outlook Conference, at Central Bank Center (formerly the Lexington Convention Center), in downtown Lexington.

The event is hosted by University of Kentucky’s Gatton College of Business and Economics’ Don and Cathy Jacobs Executive Education Center, along with the Center for Business and Economic Research (CBER) and the Institute for the Study of Free Enterprise. Commerce Lexington and the Lane Report are serving as presenting sponsors, and the Lexington-Bluegrass Association of Realtors (lbar.com) is a partner sponsor.

The Central Bank Center Bluegrass Ballroom 2 is the event site with check in and continental breakfast from 8 to 8:30 a.m., and the conference itself will be held from 8:30 to noon.

Expert speakers and presenters include:

• Michael Clark, associate professor of economics and director of the Center for Business and Economic Research, Gatton College of Business and Economics, "Economic Outlook for 2020: Kentucky and Beyond";
• Charles Courtemanche, associate professor of economics and director of the Institute for the Study of Free Enterprise, Gatton College of Business and Economics;
• Jessica Cunningham, executive director of the Kentucky Center for Statistics, "Education and Labor Force Statistics: Using KYSTATS Data to Inform Decisions";
• Kathleen Montgomery, associate professor and acting director of UK's Patterson School of Diplomacy and International Commerce, "International Trade and How it Could Affect Kentucky"; and
• Mark E. Schweitzer, senior vice president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland, "A Fed Perspective on the Economy."

“Both the U.S. and Kentucky economies continued to improve in 2019. However, the economy will face several challenges in 2020, including uncertainty over U.S. trade policy and a slowing global economy," Clark said. "These issues represent challenges for the nation’s longest running economic expansion and will have implications for Kentucky.”

Audience participation will be an important part of the event in the form of a speaker panel Q&A following the presentations.

Early registration is recommended for the conference and can be completed online.