Spears School Economist projects continued growth For 2012, future

Wednesday, December 14, 2011

The state of Oklahoma has bounced back from the recent recession much better than many other states and that growth is expected to continue throughout the next 12 months, Oklahoma State University economist Dan Rickman said Tuesday during the 2012 Oklahoma Economic Outlook Conference.
 
Rickman and Mouhcine Guettabi, a research economist, were the two representatives from the Center for Applied Economic Research from OSU’s Spears School of Business speaking at the conference that included discussions of national economic conditions and prospects for Oklahoma.
 
“We’ve had very strong growth coming out of the recent recession, more than we’ve seen in other states, and we expect that to continue into 2012,” said Rickman, OSU’s Regents Professor of Economics and Oklahoma Gas and Electric Services Chair in Regional Economic Analysis.
 
Oklahoma ranked 23rd of all the states in wage and salary growth from 2001 to 2007, growing at a rate of 4.6 percent. The state moved up to eighth overall from 2007 to 2010, despite seeing a loss of 2.2 percent during the recession (only North Dakota at 4.6 percent and Alaska at 1.7 percent saw growth during this period).
 
Rickman expects Oklahoma’s employment growth in 2012 to continue to grow at a better rate than the nationwide average – 2.77 percent in Oklahoma to just below 2.0 percent for the United States.
 
The key to the state’s growth is its dependence on the energy sector, said Rickman, who believes that 2013 could be the key year for major growth in Oklahoma as the demand for oil increases across the world.
 
“In 2013, we’ll see energy prices start to become stronger,” said Rickman, who used data provided by HIS Global Insight Forecast. “In 2013, they’re expecting the national economy to become stronger and they see that driving energy prices higher. As far as we’re concerned (in Oklahoma), as long as our national economy is weak and sputtering, energy prices are going to be susceptible.”
 
Guettabi was one of the other featured speakers throughout the event held at the Metro Technology Centers at Springlake Campus in Oklahoma City. The Spears School research economist presented a long-term look at the population growth for Oklahoma.
 
Other speakers included Deidre D. Myers, director, Research & Economic Analysis, Oklahoma Department of Commerce; Cynthia Rogers, associate professor of economics, University of Oklahoma; Mickey Hepner, Dean, College of Business Administration, University of Central Oklahoma, and Chad Wilkerson, vice president, Branch Executive and Economist, Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, Oklahoma City Branch.
 
State Treasurer Ken Miller was among those attending the conference. “I thoroughly enjoyed it because there was a lot of great information shared today,” Miller said.
 
To view the information provided by each of the presenters on the web, go to economy.okstate.edu/forecasts
 
Sponsors of Tuesday’s conference were the Center for Applied Economic Research (CAER) at the Spears School of Business, CareerTech, Metro Technology Centers, and OSU’s Center for Executive and Professional Development.