Two decades after the North American Free Trade Agreement opened the flow of trade among Canada, Mexico and the United States, economic integration remains at the forefront of international discussion.
Economists, global citizens and academics mark the 20th anniversary of NAFTA on Jan. 1, 2014, by pausing to evaluate the effects of the agreement and consider the future of business among nations. Draw upon the expertise of faculty members at The University of Texas at Austin as you dive into a topic that touches financial, social and legal spheres of human interaction.
Convergence of Government and Business
David B. Spence
Professor, Department of Business, Government and Society
512-471-0778
david.spence@mccombs.utexas.edu
Spence focuses on business and government interactions, including energy and environmental regulation. He has been on the McCombs MBA Teaching Honor Roll three times and has also been a host and participant in UT energy conferences.
Lewis Spellman
Professor, Department of Finance
512-471-5875
lewis.spellman@mccombs.utexas.edu
Spellman is an expert on foreign exchange price trends, market intervention by governments, and macroeconomics and business conditions. His research interests include the value of third party financial guarantees, market estimates of bank risk, bank survival and banking development.
John S. Butler
Professor, Department of Management and Department of Sociology
512-471-4788
john.butler@mccombs.utexas.edu
Butler focuses on entrepreneurship, wealth creation and economic issues affecting businesses and government. Notably, he served on the economic advisory team of George W. Bush’s 2000 presidential campaign.
Timothy Werner
Assistant Professor, Department of Business, Government and Society
512-232-6844; 512-573-5269 (cell)
timothy.werner@mccombs.utexas.edu
Werner’s research interests include corporate political activity, nonmarket strategy, campaign finance and private politics. He teaches undergraduate and graduate courses on corporate political strategy, and he worked in the private sector at BMO Harris, Dynegy and CenterPoint Energy.
J. Bruce Kellison
Associate Director, Bureau of Business Research, the Innovation, Creativity, Capital (IC²) Institute
bkellison@ic2.utexas.edu
512-475-7813
Kellison is responsible for strategic planning and research for the Bureau of Business Research, an applied economic research unit of IC². Kellison is former editor of Texas Business Review, and he can provide insight into the economic impact of NAFTA.
Global Economy
Rachel Wellhausen
Assistant Professor, Department of Government
Faculty Affiliate, McCombs School of Business
617-820-6110
rwellhausen@utexas.edu
Wellhausen specializes in the political economy of international investment and finance. Her book, “The Shield of Nationality: Foreign Firms in Emerging Economies,” examines how governments maintain or break their contracts with foreign investors. She is available to speak broadly about the economic impact of NAFTA.
Patricia Hansen
Professor, School of Law
512-232-1321
phansen@law.utexas.edu
Hansen is a prominent scholar in international economic law. She has published numerous articles on the subject and teaches courses on international trade, NAFTA, and legal and political reform in Latin America.
Prabhudev Konana
William H. Seay Centennial Professor in Business
Professor and Department Chair, Department of Information, Risk, and Operations Management
512-471-5219
prabhudev.konana@mccombs.utexas.edu
Konana can speak about information technology, global trade issues and outsourcing related to NAFTA. Konana’s research and teaching interests are in global sourcing, e-business value assessment, supply chain management, virtual communities, design of next-generation electronic brokerages and online investing.
United States-Mexico Relations
Robert Harrison
Deputy Director, Center for Transportation Research (CTR)
512-232-3113
harrison@mail.utexas.edu
Harrison has studied border and NAFTA transportation issues since 1990. Areas of expertise include truck and rail United States-Mexico border gateways, NAFTA truck and rail corridors, and growth, mode and values of NAFTA. Harrison can also discuss safety of Mexican trucks entering Texas, investment in Mexico, modal bottlenecks, security and inland ports.
Peter Ward
C.B. Smith Sr. Centennial Chair in U.S.-Mexico Relations
Professor, School of Public Affairs and Department of Sociology
512-471-6302 (Unavailable for media calls Dec. 18 Jan. 10)
peter.ward@mail.utexas.edu
Ward’s principal research interests are in Latin American urbanization and contemporary Mexican politics. Ward has published more than 100 articles and book chapters on public policy in Mexico and Latin America and is available for Spanish-language interviews.
