MSU economist to give Sichel talk

KALAMAZOO—An economist who has studied employment in Russia and other countries in the former Soviet Union will visit Western Michigan University next month to speak about government and transitional economies as part of the Sichel Lecture Series.

Dr. Susan Linz, a Michigan State University professor of economics, will speak at 3 p.m. Wednesday, March 13, in 2028 Brown Hall. Her presentation, titled "Good Governance in Transition Economies: A Comparative Analysis," is free and open to the public.

Susan Linz

Linz received her doctoral degree from the University of Illinois. Her current research focuses on factors influencing worker performance in formerly socialist economies, with special consideration for gender and generational differences. She has conducted employee surveys in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Serbia. She spent several years conducting in-depth interviews with top-level executives in more than 260 firms across different regions of Russia.

Linz is the former editor of Comparative Economic Studies. She serves on the board of directors of the National Council for Eurasian and East European Research and is treasurer of the Association for Slavic, East European and Eurasian Studies. She teaches courses on comparative economic systems, economic analysis of transition and analysis of the Russian economy.

Linz's publication credits include more than 45 journal articles, three edited books and 12 book chapters. She has participated in numerous training programs in Russia and the United States attended by business leaders, economists and journalists.

Sichel Lecture Series

The Sichel Series is organized by the WMU Department of Economics and named in honor of longtime WMU economics professor Dr. Werner Sichel, who retired in 2004. The series is annually cosponsored by the College of Arts and Sciences and W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research.