Harold Hotelling Memorial Lecture
Dr. Michael Belzer, Associate Professor of Economics
Wayne State University
Wednesday, October 24, 2012 - 7:30pm
Mary E. Marburger Science and Engineering
Auditorium (S100), Science Building
21000 W. 10 Mile Road, Southfield, MI
Transforming the Detroit Region into a Transportation Hub
Michael H. Belzer, Associate Professor, Economics, Wayne State University
It's no secret that the Detroit region needs a tune-up. Michael Belzer proposes a solution: take advantage of our proximity to Canada and access to North America's only two transcontinental railroads to create an inland port similar to Chicago. This "Great Lakes Global Freight Gateway" would concentrate intermodal freight transport assets and transform the area into one of America's pre-eminent transport centers, proving regional business with low-cost and quick access to global markets.
While the value proposition for business is great, Belzer estimates it's even greater for the region: $11 billion annually in new economic activity, 150,000 new jobs, and more than $1.3 billion in taxes to reenergize state and manicipal governments.
Michael H. Belzer is associate professor in the Department of Economics, College of Arts and Sciences, at Wayne State University. he also is associate director of the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation's Trucking Industry Program, which focuses on trucking industry operations, regulation, industrial organization, and industrial relations, and directs its Trucking Industry Benchmarking Program. Belzer chairs the Transportation Research Board Committee on Trucking Industry Research and is a member of the Freight Systems Executive Board, the Committee of Freight Economics and Regulation, and the Bus Safety Committtee. He holds the PhD from Cornell University and is the author of Sweatshops on Wheels: Winners and Losers in Trucking Deregulation.
The Harold Hotelling Memorial Lecture Series was founded to honor an esteemed scholar and colleague. Harold Hotelling (1945 - 2009) joined Lawrence Tech as an associate professor of economics in 1989 and taught courses in business law, business ethics, constitutional law, urban social issues, and law and economics. His life was marked by an unwavering dedication to his family, his church, his students, and his profession. Everyone who knew him benefited from his keen intellect, tireless devotion, quick wit, and wonderful sense of humor. Hotelling's contributions to Lawrence Tech will always be remembered, but more importantly, he will be remembered as a great person and a dear friend.