COLUMBUS, Ind. — A raging pandemic, as well as the continued prospect of new rounds of shut downs and an impasse in Congress over a stimulus package to help millions of Americans have made it hard to forecast what’s in store for the local, state and national economies.
“Frankly, I don’t have a clue this year,” said Bill Witte, a former economics professor at Indiana University who continues to be involved with the IU Center for Econometric Model Research.
Witte was one of four experts who provided a tentative outlook for how Indiana, the nation and Columbus might recover from the colossal economic shock of the pandemic during Tuesday’s 2021 Indiana Business Outlook Panel, which IUPUC held via Zoom.
The shroud of uncertainty draping the economic recovery from the pandemic largely revolves around the consequences of shutting down and restarting the U.S. economy earlier this year, political uncertainty and what may lay ahead as a tidal wave of COVID-19 infections continue to engulf much of the country.
In short, the U.S. economy is in uncharted territory, the panel of experts said.
For more on this story, see Thursday’s Republic.
