ANN ARBOR—Forecasts for the U.S. and Michigan economies and the consumer outlook for 2002 will highlight the University of Michigan’s 49th annual Conference on the Economic Outlook, Nov. 15-16, at the Michigan Theater, 603 E. Liberty St.

Saul H. Hymans, U-M professor of economics and statistics and director of the Research Seminar in Quantitative Economics (RSQE), will open the conference with a presentation of “The U.S. Economic Outlook” at 9:30 a.m. Nov. 15. Richard T. Curtin, director of the Surveys of Consumers at the U-M Institute for Social Research (ISR), will discuss “The Consumer Outlook for 2002” at 11 a.m.

The next day (Nov. 16) at 9:30 a.m., U-M economists Joan P. Crary and George A. Fulton will present “The 2002 Outlook for the Michigan Economy.”

Other presentations during the two-day conference include:

F”The Tax Rebate: Spent or Saved?” by U-M economists Matthew D. Shapiro and Joel Slemrod (Nov. 15).

•”The Canadian Economic Outlook and Implications for the Vehicle & High-Tech Industries in the U.S.” by Thomas Wilson of the University of Toronto (Nov. 15).

•”The Effects of Recent and Potential Trade Agreements on the U.S. and Other Major Trading Countries” by Drusilla K. Brown of Tufts University and Alan V. Deardorff and Robert M. Stern, U-M professors of economics and public policy (Nov. 15).

•”The Index of Consumer Sentiment as a Predictor of Cyclical Peaks” by U-M economist E. Philip Howrey (Nov. 15).

•”The Life Cycle of U.S. Economic Expansions” by Edward E. Leamer of U.C.L.A. (Nov. 15).

•”Auto 2000+, Life in the Really Fast Lane” by David E. Cole of the Center for Automotive Research (Nov. 16).

•”Deutsche Bank’s View on the U.S. and Global Outlook” by Peter Hooper of Deutsche Banc Alex. Brown (Nov. 16).

Conference on the Economic OutlookSaul H. HymansJoan P. CraryMatthew D. ShapiroThomas WilsonDrusilla K. BrownE. Philip Howrey