Chamber forms economic council

The Florida Chamber Foundation brought together many of the state's most prominent economists to form a newly established Econometrics Council. The Foundation says the Council will use econometric data to come up with recommendations for state policies.

The Council's members include:

• Jennifer Chapman, Director of Public Affairs, Fidelity Investments;
• William Christiansen, Chairman, Department of Finance, Florida State University;
• Charles “Skip” Cramer, Executive Director, Jacksonville Community Council, Inc.;
• Rick Harper, Director of the Haas Center for Business Research and Economic Development at the University of West Florida;
• William Seyfried, Professor of Economics, Rollins College;
• Sean Snaith, Director, Institute for Economic Competitiveness at the University of Central Florida;
• Gary VanLandingham, Director, Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability; and
• Mark Vitner, Managing Director and Senior Economist, Wells Fargo Securities.

The Council will meet to discuss one of the Chamber's newest tools for gauging economic success in the state — the Florida Scorecard. An updated version of the scorecard is slated for a February release.