The 11th annual Advancing Mississippi Conference will present research on the state’s health, education, tax policies and human capital, the University Research Center said. The conference is scheduled for Sept. 25 at 9 a.m. at the Mississippi Children’s Museum.
Organizers said the conference aims to identify productive ways to overcome long-term challenges and foster economic growth for Mississippians. The University Research Center is a division of the Mississippi Institutions of Higher Learning.
Organizers said human capital — measured by knowledge, health, skills and experience — will be a focus of the research presented. The conference is intended for higher education faculty, graduate and undergraduate students, and researchers without university affiliation, the organizers said.
William M. Rodgers II, vice president of community development research at the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, will be the luncheon keynote speaker, the University Research Center said. The center said Rodgers is a former Rutgers University professor and a published researcher whose work has centered on compensation, economic mobility, labor markets and economic trends.
Rodgers is expected to address Mississippi’s young adult population not enrolled in higher education and not employed, organizers said. According to the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, Mississippi’s workforce participation rate for residents 16 and older was 54.9% in July. The event is free, but registration is required and limited to the first 100 people, the University Research Center said.
Jon Ross Myers is the executive editor and publisher of the Mississippi News Network, Mississippi's largest digital only media company. He can be reached at editor@tippahnews.com
