7am News, Sports and Obits

Latest WGIL news
Click to play or
Right click and "Save Target As" to download
Click for Galesburg, Illinois Forecast
Home - Cancellations - Community Events - Contact Us - Mornings - News - Obituaries - Pictures - Programs - Special Events Audio - Sports - Weather
U-of-I Economists Working on Long-Term Budgeting Forecast Model
It won't be a crystal ball, but an economic forecasting model that might be useful in state government is coming together at the University of Illinois.

Richard Dye, a researcher in the university's Institute of Government and Public Affairs, says the Fiscal Futures Project is a way to help the state better forecast what's ahead - beyond a year or two.

Dye says the mindset is not confined to Illinois: Many state governments seem to be trapped in a one or two-year budget. He and other researchers want a computer model to determine the long-term impact of budget and policy decisions.

He hopes the project ultimately helps lawmakers understand things such as the impact of aging Baby Boomers on state health costs or how a changing economy will affect tax revenue. Dye says the state is looking at a three-pronged deficit: structural, cyclical, demographic.

The project, to integrate with an economic model already in place at the Urbana-Champaign campus' Regional Economic Applications Laboratory, won't be done in time for Governor Pat Quinn's first budget address on Wednesday.

(Illinois Radio Network)
03 13 09 by Newsroom
News management powered by Xpression News

Click here for the WGIL News Archive

Click here for national news

The following provision applies to all visitors (which shall include persons and representatives of legal entities, whether such representatives are persons or digital engines of a kind that crawls, indexes, scrapes, copies, stores or transmits digital content). By accessing this Web site or digital service, you specifically acknowledge and agree that: (i) Associated Press text, photo, graphic, audio and/or video material shall not be published, broadcast, rewritten for broadcast or publication or redistributed directly or indirectly in any medium; (ii) No Associated Press materials nor any portion thereof may be stored in a computer except for personal and non-commercial use; (iii) The Associated Press will not be held liable for any delays, inaccuracies, errors or omissions therefrom or in the transmission or delivery of all or any part thereof or for any damages arising from any of the foregoing; (iv) The Associated Press is an intended third party beneficiary of these terms and conditions and it may exercise all rights and remedies available to it; and (v) The Associated Press reserves the right to audit possible unauthorized commercial use of AP materials or any portion thereof at any time.