News releases

June 3, 2008

TO: Reporters, assignment editors
FROM: University Communications, (608) 262-3571, bsmattmi@wisc.edu
RE: TIP/ECONOMIC EXPERTS AVAILABLE TO DISCUSS JANESVILLE GM PLANT DECISION

Economic experts from the University of Wisconsin-Madison are available to discuss General Motors' announcement today that it will close its Janesville assembly plant, a move that could cost as many as 2,600 jobs in the community.

- GARY GREEN, professor of rural sociology and director of the Center for Community and Economic Development, (608) 262-2710, gpgreen@wisc.edu.

Green directs an influential program that helps counties throughout Wisconsin analyze and assess local labor markets. The program helps Wisconsin communities understand labor supply and demand by collecting data from employers, workers and training institutions. The reports analyze the types of jobs that are available and how well they match the skills of the work force.

Green's work in Rock County produced a successful outcome with Blackhawk Technical College in Janesville. The group's analysis showed that one of the highest growing areas in the region was the plastics industry, and the project worked with Blackhawk to develop a program that would provide new training opportunities for employers. Visit Green's Web site at http://www.drs.wisc.edu/green/labor.htm.

- DONALD NICHOLS, UW-Madison professor emeritus of economics and public affairs, (608) 263-2327, (608) 233-4022 (home), nichols@lafollette.wisc.edu.

Nichols, who serves on Gov. Jim Doyle's Economic Advisory Council, can provide insights based upon his ongoing research of the Midwest and its place in the international economy. For more than 30 years, Nichols has focused his research, teaching and publications on factors affecting unemployment, inflation and regional economic growth, with a focus on macroeconomic theory and policy and regional economic policy.

- L. ALLEN PHELPS, professor of educational administration and director of the Center on Education and Work, (608) 263-2714, aphelps@education.wisc.edu.

As director of the Center on Education and Work, Phelps explores the economic impact of career and technical education, school-based enterprises, math and science education, and secondary school reform. The center also promotes career development services statewide through a program called Wisconsin Careers. Visit the center's Web site at http://www.cew.wisc.edu/.

- JOEL ROGERS and LAURA DRESSER, director and co-director of the Center on Wisconsin Strategy (COWS). Rogers can be reached at (608) 262-4592, jrogers@ssc.wisc.edu; Dresser at (608) 262-6944, ldresser@ssc.wisc.edu.

Rogers has done a great deal of research on advanced manufacturing, including automobiles and auto suppliers, and could comment both on Wisconsin impacts and industry trends. Dresser has gathered data recently on the Rock County economy and work force and can discuss how the shutdown may impact the regional economy. The rebound analysis is difficult to assess, Dresser says, but there are examples from Michigan that can be learned from.

COWS is a research center devoted to strategies that foster higher-wage jobs, less waste, and stronger government and civic engagement. Visit its Web site at http://www.cows.org/.

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