Governor Details Plans For Economic Summit

11:06AM / Wednesday, October 14, 2009

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BOSTON – The governor is calling together leaders in business, finance, education and public policy to brainstorm ways to promote long-term economic recovery.

"Massachusetts is poised to come out of this downturn faster and stronger than the rest of the country," said Gov. Deval Patrick. "By convening representatives of commerce and industry from every corner of the state, we can plot a course together to make the most of our recovery and assure that no one is left behind."

The state has been struggling with declining tax revenues and stagnant job growth, but economic indicators are pointing to a faster recovery than for many other states. The global economy has been reeling for more than a year.

The governor's office is crediting the reviving economy to Patrick's and the Legislature's focus on long-term economic development and investments in key industries such as life sciences, health care, education and clean energy.

The daylong summit will be held at the Federal Reserve Bank in Boston on Oct. 27.

While the private sector is showing early signs of recovery – housing sales and starts are up and business investment is growing – state tax revenue always recover more slowly than the private sector economy, according to the governor, and, as a result, the state will continue to confront challenges brought on by the global economic collapse for the foreseeable future. The Governor’s Economic Summit is designed to help Massachusetts develop a strategic roadmap to recovery.

"I look forward to joining Governor Patrick and other leaders at the Economic Summit later this month," said House Speaker Robert DeLeo. "This forum will spur thoughtful discussion and remind Massachusetts residents and others of the strengths of our resilient state, an historic center of innovation and reinvention."

The summit is being organized in partnership with the Executive Office of Housing and Economic Development, led by Secretary Greg Bialecki, former Boston Federal Reserve President and Chairwoman of the governor's Council of Economic Advisers Cathy Minehan, Dean of the School of Public Policy and Urban Affairs at Northeastern University Barry Bluestone and Boston Federal Reserve President and Chief Executive Officer Eric Rosengren.

The governor has also assembled a planning committee comprised of leaders from a variety of sectors and regions across the state to develop and lead the summit’s comprehensive agenda.

"The economic summit provides us with that rare 'education moment' when we can gather together to consider what we have been through and what this next year may bring, what we're doing to stem economic hardship and how we can work together to ensure a more prosperous future, equitably shared," said Bluestone.

The summit will include discussions on the current state of the national and the Massachusetts economy, the Patrick administration's strategies for economic recovery, initiatives to successfully leverage state, federal stimulus and private investments to create conditions for maximum job growth, ways to support the innovation economy, and public-private collaborations that can move the economy forward.