Harrisburg Patriot-News
Slow Recovery Forecast By PSU Economists

By Brett Lieberman

Economists do not expect to see a booming economy like that of the 1990s anytime soon, but there may be some good news on the horizon.

Low interest rates, large federal tax cuts and deficits, increased defense spending and increased efficiency are expected to help spur a stagnant economy -- albeit slowly and at least in the short-term.

But few of the 45 heavy industry and chemical businesses that Ralph Oliva of Penn State works with are considering hiring.

They're also not investing in capital equipment necessary to grow.

Instead, they are seeking higher profits through increased efficiency, learning to make do in this economy and finding new markets or profit potential.

"One by one firms are starting to decide waiting is not a strategy," said Oliva, director of the Institute for the Study of Business Markets in Penn State's Smeal College of Business.

"It's time to learn how to grow in this environment and the best firms are getting very innovative," he said.

Yet they haven't added the capacity needed to sustain their growth or to growth the economy, Oliva noted.

To return to Media Coverage click here .

REPORTERS & EDITORS: For more information, please contact Wyatt DuBois in the Smeal College of Business Media Relations Office at 814-863-3798 or wed112@psu.edu .

Penn State's Smeal College of Business offers highly ranked undergraduate, MBA, executive MBA, Ph.D., and executive education opportunities to more than 5,500 students at all levels. Featuring academic departments of accounting, finance, marketing, insurance and real estate, management, and supply chain and information systems, the college is also home to major research centers such as the Center for Supply Chain Research, the Institute for the Study of Business Markets, the eBusiness Research Center, the Farrell Center for Corporate Innovation and Entrepreneurship, the Center for Global Business Studies, and the Center for the Management of Technological and Organizational Change.

Click here for more news.