FTC Announces Roundtable Celebrating 100th Anniversary of its Predecessor Agency the Bureau of Corporations

On September 4, 2003, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Bureau of Economics will hold a one-day roundtable celebrating the 100th anniversary of the FTC’s predecessor agency, the Bureau of Corporations. The focus of this roundtable is the contributions of the Bureau of Economics and of economics, specifically, to the Commission’s mission and to economic policy generally over the past several decades. The Bureau of Economics is featured because the original functions of the Bureau of Corporations were to collect information, to conduct industry and policy research, and to prepare reports at the request of Congress and the President. FTC Chairman Timothy J. Muris will give opening remarks. The luncheon speaker for the event will be former FTC Chairman and OMB Director James C. Miller III. Roundtable participants will be directors of the Bureau of Economics from the 1950s to the present. The morning program will focus on the Bureau’s contributions to FTC antitrust enforcement. The afternoon programs will focus on the Bureau’s contributions to consumer protection law enforcement and on general contributions to policy and economics. The roundtable will be open to the public and will be held in the FTC’s conference center at 601 New Jersey Avenue NW.

Thursday, September 4, 2003

8:45: Opening remarks: FTC Chairman Timothy Muris

9:00 - 12:30: Bureau of Economics Contributions to Antitrust Law Enforcement. This panel will focus on significant contributions of the Bureau of Economics to the FTC’s law enforcement mission in antitrust. Moderator: David Scheffman.

12:30 -1:30: Luncheon and Keynote Address: “A Former Chairman’s Perspective on the Role of Economic Analysis,” presented by former FTC Chairman James Miller.

1:45 - 2:45: Bureau of Economics Contributions to Consumer Protection Enforcement. This panel will focus on significant contributions of the Bureau of Economics to the FTC’s law enforcement mission in consumer protection. Moderator: David Scheffman.

3:00-5:00: Bureau of Economics Contributions to Research and Economic Knowledge and Policy. Moderator: Paul Pautler.