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At the Economic Forecasting Center , we provide you with one of the most important tools of all – information – and its analysis on a regular basis. Specifically, this is the information and knowledge that will allow you to make smart, strategic business decisions.
August 28, 2025
Economic Forecasting Webinar
- Will the Fed undertake ALL its promised rate cuts in 2025?
- Do Trade Deficits help or hurt economic growth?
- What are the emerging clusters of growth in Georgia?
- How to view tariffs from a growth perspective?
- What do state migration patterns imply for the housing market?
Date: Thursday, August 28, 2025
Time: 9:00 am – 12:00 pm
Location: ONLINE via Webex
Price: $75 (click here for discount pricing & details)
Speakers
- Rajeev Dhawan
- Professor & Director
- Economic Forecasting Center
- J. Mack Robinson College of Business
- Michael Donnelly
- Chief Economist
- IBM
- Holly Wade
- Executive Director
- NFIB Research Center
- David Smith
- Head of Americas Insights, Global Research
- Cushman & Wakefield
Webinar Program
| 9:00 a.m. | Welcome & Housekeeping | |
| 9:05 a.m. | Words of Welcome | Richard Phillips Dean J. Mack Robinson College of Business |
| 9:10 a.m | AI, IT, and the Next Productivity Boom This talk explores how generative AI could power GDP growth, change the types of jobs we have, and raise living standards, drawing on data, economic history, and emerging use cases to assess whether we’re on the cusp of a productivity revival. It will examine lessons from past tech booms, current evidence from AI deployment, and the risks and opportunities ahead for business leaders, workers, and students alike. |
Michael Donnelly Chief Economist IBM |
| 9:30 a.m | Small Business Navigation of the Economic Wilderness Small business owners are operating in a turbulent environment of domestic and international policy shifts. Small businesses are the cornerstone of the U.S. economy and engine of the U.S. economic dynamism. This session will cover the current state of the small business economy and their most challenging issues in operating their business. |
Holly Wade Executive Director NFIB Research Center |
| 9:50 a.m | Mega Trends Driving the Future of Commercial Real Estate The past five years—initiated by the COVID-19 pandemic—have brought profound and unprecedented changes to how and where people live, work and play. These shifts reshaped the way businesses, customers and employees interacted with physical spaces. Some of this disruption has been negative, but many opportunities have emerged that benefited the economy and the commercial real estate sector. Looking forward, several mega trends are going to be critical components of the evolving CRE landscape. During this session we will explore several of them: the rise of AI and its various physical “needs,” shifts in populations and demographics, and the reimagining of our urban cores. |
David Smith Head of Americas Insights, Global Research Cushman & Wakefield |
| 10:10 a.m. | Q & A for speakers | |
| 10:25 a.m. | Break & Networking | |
| 10:35 a.m. | Economic Outlook Update (Nation & Georgia) Rajeev Dhawan delivers his keynote presentation on the economic outlook of the United States, Georgia and the Atlanta Metro Region. Join us as he shares his views on the state of the global economy as well as employment and consumption trends and their impact on the industry in Georgia. He will discuss, in particular, the implications for residential and commercial real estate in the Atlanta Metro Region. |
Rajeev Dhawan Zwerner Chair of Economic Forecasting & Director Economic Forecasting Center J. Mack Robinson College of Business |
| 11:45 a.m. | Q & A | |
| 12:00 p.m. | Closing Remarks and Adjourn |
Chief Economist responsible for risk mitigation by updating senior management to potential revenue loss, including quarterly economic updates to the CFO to prepare for earnings calls. Second, develop and deploy analytics to improve risk metrics, market opportunities and pricing solutions of our worldwide businesses. This includes forecasts of economic activity across 170 countries including GDP, wages, inflation, market opportunity indicators, and a Foreign Exchange forecast. Additionally, provides scenario analysis and custom research to our CFO and CEO. Finally, Mike supports IBM sales operations with focused presentations at customer events and peer to peer meetings.Projects: internal tax and tariff scenario modeling, and inflation scenarios. Worked with Arvind Krishna while modeling and writing pages 188-193 in the 2018 IMF document 
Emin joined Insight as a Senior Economist in March 2023, mainly focusing on US macro coverage. He has direct ownership of Insight’s US and Canadian economic forecasts, as well as working with his team to deliver a consistent set of global economic forecasts and thematic views. Prior to Insight, Emin was an Economist with Mastercard Economics Institute. He previously held a position at Wellington as a macro and thematic researcher and started his career in 2005. He holds a MS in Finance degree from London Business School and is also a CFA charterholder.
February 26, 2026
Economic Forecasting Webinar
Date: February 26, 2026
Time: 9:15 am – 11:45 am
Location: ONLINE via Webex
Price: $75 (click here for discount pricing & details)
Details Coming Soon!
General Conference Information
The Economic Forecasting Center holds conferences at the end of February, May, August and November. Each half-day conference features a detailed analysis of the economic outlook for the nation, Southeast, Georgia and Atlanta, combining Rajeev Dhawan’s own expertise with the latest computer-based econometric models. The program also offers presentations on topics ranging from stock market performance and international events to real estate conditions and local growth.
Online Conference Includes:
- Rajeev Dhawan’s forecast presentation
- Industry speakers
- Access to:
- Pdf Copy of Dr. Dhawan’s presentation
- Pdf Copy of Forecast Tables, Appendixes and other relevant Forecast material
Conference Prices
Conference prices listed below are per conference. There are no Conference Subscriptions offered at this time (attendance to multiple conferences/year). However, discounts for multiple people at each conference are offered.
Virtual Conference Webinar Fees:
- Individual Virtual Conference: $75
- 2 people/Conference, virtual: $125 (save $25)
- 3 people/Conference, virtual: $150 (save $75)
- 4 people/Conference, virtual: $200 (save $100)
Attendees will pay for individual conferences via our online uStore with a credit or debit card. The Center will not accept checks for payment.
Audience Breakdown
250-300 business professionals regularly attend the conference.
Who Are They?
| 75% | Businesses |
| 5% | Press |
| 10% | MBA students |
| 10% | GSU Professors |
Size of Businesses Represented
| 35% | Public companies |
| 25% | Medium-sized companies |
| 45% | Small businesses |
Industries
| 20% | Education |
| 15% | Real Estate |
| 10% | Services |
| 10% | Government |
| 5% | Manufacturing |
| 5% | Transportation |
| 5% | Finance |
| 5% | Technology |
| 5% | Utilities |
Other Industries Represented
| Architecture |
| Automotive |
| Banking |
| Construction |
| Hospitality |
| Legal |
| Non-Profit |
| Retail |
| Telecom |
Cancellation Policy
To cancel your registration and be eligible for a refund, call the Economic Forecasting Center at 404-413-7260 before 4 p.m. the day before the conference. A stop payment of a check does not constitute a formal cancellation. Registrants who do not attend the conference and have not cancelled one day prior to the conference are liable for the entire registration fee but will be mailed conference materials.
Substitution Policy
If an annual subscriber cannot attend the conference, another person from the same company can substitute in the subscriber’s place.
