UK's CBER Serves Commonwealth, Nation in Varied Ways

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Feb. 4, 2015) — Its name, the Center for Business and Economic Research, may not sound that exciting, yet this important unit of the University of Kentucky actually is involved in a number of fascinating projects at any given time.

Housed within UK's Gatton College of Business and Economics, CBER, as it is often referred to, studies a wide range of topics and issues. In recent months and years, the list of research projects carried out by the center includes:

·         Manpower, labor, and human resources

·         Tourism economics

·         Transportation economics

·         Health economics

·         Regulatory reform

·         Public finance

·         Technology use and adoption

·         Education policy

·         Economic growth and development

"Our purpose is to disseminate economic information and provide economic and policy analysis to assist decision makers in Kentucky's public and private sectors," said CBER Director and Gatton Endowed Professor of Economics Christopher Bollinger.

Just yesterday (Feb. 3), CBER released its comprehensive 2015 Kentucky Annual Economic Report, one of the ways the center fulfills its mission, as mandated by state law, to examine various aspects of the Kentucky economy.

In addition, CBER performs research projects on behalf of federal, state, and local government agencies, as well as for private-sector clients nationwide.

"The primary motivation behind the center's research agenda is the belief that systematic and scientific inquiries into economic phenomena yield very useful knowledge," said CBER research associate Michael T. Childress. "This knowledge is vital to the formulation of informed public policy."

While CBER's full-time staff numbers only six, with Bollinger, Childress, economic analyst Anna Stewart, and research assistants James M. Sharpe, Meredith Shores and Nicholas Moellman, the center regularly calls upon faculty members and graduate students in the Gatton College's Department of Economics, as well as faculty in departments and colleges across UK, to conduct research studies and report on their findings.

“In the last few years the center has studied issues such as the impact of a toll on the Brent Spence Bridge over the Ohio River, and which goods are exported from Kentucky,” said Bollinger.  Recently added projects include evaluating Lexington’s Housing First program and the economic impact of the Keeneland fall meet.

CBER's work frequently has important public policy implications. For example, its analysis of Medicaid data on pharmaceutical prescriptions has informed policy makers about the heavy use of antipsychotics and ADHD medication by some children across the state; its analysis of Internet access across Kentucky has provided state policy makers with a way to focus development efforts on underserved areas; and, CBER personnel currently are working with public health experts in UK's College of Public Health to enhance the country's health security through the development and refinement of the National Health Security Preparedness Index.

Gatton College Dean David W. Blackwell said that having CBER as part of the college is a real plus.

"The research done by CBER not only is vital to the state and nation, it is of great benefit to our faculty and students in terms of community engagement," said Blackwell.

So, the next time you want to find out where the Kentucky economy has been, where it is now, and where it may headed, you may want to visit CBER's website at cber.uky.edu.

MEDIA CONTACT: Carl Nathe, 859-257-3200; carl.nathe@uky.edu.