Smith’s presentation, “A New Administration/An Old Economy” will be held Thursday, Nov. 13th in the Imperial Ballroom of the Hyatt Regency Houston Hotel, 1200 Louisiana St.

The event is sold out to the general public, but arrangements for media attendees can be made. Also, Smith will be available for interviews with individual members of the media and print reporters from 10:30-11:40 a.m. Media representatives may request one-on-one interviews prior to or immediately following his presentation. Contact Richard Bonnin at 713-743-8155 or rbonnin@uh.edu for more information.

In his presentation, Smith will discuss his assessment of the severity and longevity of the current national and global economic crisis, what policy options the new president will have, and how it will affect Houstonians in terms of the value of their homes, the value of their stock-oriented retirement plans and the security of their local jobs.

While rejecting the notion of a depression, Smith will examine a variety of more likely scenarios, all of which will have implications for Houston’s economic growth and prosperity. He also will discuss how long we may have to wait before the problems in the housing and stock markets may begin to dissipate and, perhaps even more importantly, how much weaker the national and regional labor markets are likely to become before they begin to recover. Smith also will comment on why he believes Houston’s energy industry boom will soon come to an end, pulling the rug out from under the regional economy’s most important cushion.

Smith has conducted numerous studies on urban issues, housing, transportation and the environment. During the past 20 years, he has gained national recognition for his analyses of the Houston economy and real estate markets. Smith wrote “Handbook on the Houston Economy” and continues to present and publish two symposium reports a year on Houston’s economy and real estate markets. For more information, go to http://www.uh.edu/irf/index.htm.

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