By Elizabeth Steffensmeier
On Monday morning, Scioto Analysis announced the launch of the Ohio Economic Experts Panel, a panel of Ohio-based economists weighing in on important public policy problems. The Ohio Economic Experts Panel will answer questions on an ongoing basis relevant to pressing public problems.
The Ohio Economic Experts Panel has been inspired by the Economic Experts Panel directed by the Initiative for Global Markets (IGM). We plan to replicate the success of the IGM Economic Experts Panel in our state by posing questions of relevance to state policy to economists from colleges throughout Ohio. The goal of this initiative is to help connect policymakers to researchers with information on crucial policy problems.
Each survey will pose statements about pressing public policy decisions. The panelists’ responses will inform the public on the extent that they agree or disagree with the statement. Each question will also have an "uncertain" and "no opinion" option. "Uncertain" is selected when the panelist thinks that the evidence pertaining to the particular question is ambiguous. "No opinion" is selected when a panelist does not feel qualified as an expert in the area. We will be encouraging panelists to use these options when relevant as we recognize that lack of specific subject matter expertise is inevitable--no one can be an expert on everything.
The results of the surveys will be weighted by the respondents’ confidence levels. Both the unweighted and weighted results will be published. In addition, panelists will have the option to leave a brief comment with each question to further elaborate or link relevant research.
The results of the surveys will be informative for policymakers, the media, and the public. We expect that for some questions, there will be consensus among the panelists. If almost all of the panelists strongly agree or agree, knowing that a panel of highly qualified economists expect a particular result from policy enactment is valuable information. However, we also expect that for some surveys, there will not be a consensus. This information is just as important.
Congratulations and thank you to the panelists who will serve on the Ohio Economic Experts Panel:
Dr. Jonathan Andreas: Bluffton University
Dr. Gregory Arburn: University of Findlay
Dr. Bizuayehu Bedane: Marietta College
Dr. David Brasington: University of Cincinnati
Dr. Ron Cheung: Oberlin College
Dr. Jay Corrigan: Kenyon College
Dr. Kevin Egan: University of Toledo
Dr. Kenneth Fah: Ohio Dominican University
Dr. Hasan Faruq: Xavier University
Dr. Vinnie Gajjala- Tiffin University
Dr. Sucharita Ghosh: University of Akron
Dr. Robert Gitter: Ohio Wesleyan University
Dr. Nancy Haskell: University of Dayton
Dr. Paul Holmes: Ashland University
Dr. Faria Huq: Lake Erie College
Dr. Michael Jones: University of Cincinnati
Dr. Fadhel Kaboub: Denison University
Dr. Kristen Keith- University of Toledo
Dr. Bill Kosteas: Cleveland State University
Dr. Charles Kroncke: Mount Saint Joseph University
Dr. Trevon Logan: Ohio State University
Dr. Phillip Mellizo: The College of Wooster
Dr. Diane Monaco: Heidelberg University
Dr. Michael Myler: University of Mount Union
Dr. Joseph Nowakowski: Muskingum University
Dr. Mingming Pan: Wright State University
Dr. C. Lockwood Reynolds: Kent State University
Dr. Martin Saavedra- Oberlin College
Dr. Lewis Sage: Baldwin Wallace University
Dr. Daniel Shoag: Case Western Reserve University
Dr. Dean Snyder: Antioch College
Dr. Olga Standrityuk: Ohio University
Dr. Kay Strong: Baldwin Wallace University
Dr. Albert Sumell: Youngstown State University
Dr. Melissa Thomasson: Miami University
Dr. Thomas Traynor: Wright State University
Dr. Ejindu Ume: Miami University
Dr. Mark Votruba: Case Western Reserve University
Dr. Matthew Weinberg: Ohio State University
Dr. Andrew Welki: John Carroll University
Dr. Kathryn Wilson: Kent State University
Dr. Rachel Wilson: Wittenberg University