Director's Welcome
The Texas A&M University System Board of Regents officially approved the creation of the Robert A. Mosbacher Institute for Trade, Economics, and Public Policy at the Bush School of Government and Public Service, effective October 1, 2009. The intended purpose of the Mosbacher Institute is to foster cutting edge research on international trade issues and domestic economic policy issues while at the same time fostering increased educational emphasis in these areas. Having spent almost 40 years as an academic economist studying the world oil market and having initiated the Bush School's program in the economics of public policy, I am pleased to serve as the Institute's first director. I have a strong commitment to excellence in policy-relevant economic research and want to see the Mosbacher Institute gain visibility here in Texas, in Washington, D. C., and internationally. My goal is to see the Mosbacher Institute move from its current "start-up phase" to a "fully operational phase" that will make a difference in a number of policy arenas.
Currently, the Mosbacher Institute is in the "start-up phase" with an initial resource commitment from the University and modest endowment funds provided by the Bush Foundation. The income from this endowment will be used to fund a Mosbacher Speaker Series that will bring researchers, policy analysts, and policy makers to the Bush School for interaction with our Bush School students and faculty working in their areas. This will serve the dual purpose of exposing our students to outside ideas and methodological approaches and at the same time enabling these visitors to become aware of the quality of faculty we have here at the Bush School.
James M. Griffin, Director
James M. Griffin holds the Bob Bullock Chair in Finance and Public Policy. He holds a Ph.D. in economics from the University of Pennsylvania ('70) and an undergraduate degree from Southern Methodist in economics and mathematics. Griffin's research on energy policy and the effects of technological change on various industries has been published in numerous scholarly articles and books, and he co-authored the leading textbook in his field. He serves on the editorial boards of three journals specializing in energy economics. Most recently, he wrote A Smart Energy Policy: An Economist's Rx for Balancing Cheap, Clean, and Secure Energy published by Yale University Press. Griffin also has considerable experience as a consultant on antitrust and regulatory matters.
Jennifer Moore, Assistant Director
