SMI Podcast: Lessons From The Last Economic Recovery

Economy |
By Susan Pendergrass and Aaron Hedlund | Read Time 1 min

Dr. Aaron Hedlund joins Dr. Susan Pendergrass on this episode of The Show-Me Institute Podcast.

Aaron Hedlund

Aaron Hedlund is chief economist at Show-Me Institute and an associate professor with tenure in the economics department at the University of Missouri-Columbia as well as a research fellow at the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.

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Susan Pendergrass

About the Author

Before joining the Show-Me Institute, Susan Pendergrass was Vice President of Research and Evaluation for the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools, where she oversaw data collection and analysis and carried out a rigorous research program. Susan earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Business, with a concentration in Finance, at the University of Colorado in 1983. She earned her Masters in Business Administration at George Washington University, with a concentration in Finance (1992) and a doctorate in public policy from George Mason University, with a concentration in social policy (2002). Susan began researching charter schools with her dissertation on the competitive effects of Massachusetts charter schools. Since then, she has conducted numerous studies on the fiscal impact of school choice legislation. Susan has also taught quantitative methods courses at the Paul H. Nitze School for Advanced International Studies, at Johns Hopkins University, and at the School of Public Policy at George Mason University. Prior to coming to the National Alliance, Susan was a senior policy advisor at the U.S. Department of Education during the Bush administration and a senior research scientist at the National Center for Education Statistics during the Obama administration.
Aaron Hedlund

About the Author

Aaron Hedlund is an associate professor with tenure in the Mitch Daniels School of Business at Purdue University, as well as a research fellow at the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. From 2020 to 2021, Hedlund was the Chief Domestic Economist and Senior Adviser at the White House Council of Economic Advisers (CEA). Before joining the CEA, he was also the Acting Director of Academic Outreach and Senior Fellow at the Center for Growth and Opportunity. His other public policy experiences include stints at the Heritage Foundation and the International Trade Commission as well as service in senior state-level advisory roles. Hedlund's research focuses on the intersection of macroeconomics, finance, real estate, and labor. Some of the topics he has studied extensively include the causes and consequences of housing booms and busts, the forces driving up college tuition and student debt, and the macroeconomic implications of China's economic transformation. He has also written and spoken extensively on market-oriented reforms to the tax code and healthcare system. In addition to appearing in peer-reviewed academic journals, Hedlund's work has been featured in the Wall Street Journal and National Review, has been used as expert testimony in state-level policy initiatives, and has been presented at numerous think tanks, academic institutions, and central banks both in and outside of the United States. Hedlund received his Ph.D. in economics from the University of Pennsylvania and his Bachelor's in economics and mathematics from Duke University. Aaron is currently on a leave of absence and serving as the Chief Economist at the White House Council of Economic Advisers.

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