Finding the link between banks, small business

Stephan Weiler, professor of economics at CSU, is part of a group of prestigious speakers at the Resilience and Rebuilding for Low-Income Communities Conference.

The event, sponsored by the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, features top economists from universities and financial institutions across the country. Keynote speaker is Ben Bernanke, chairman of the Federal Reserve and one of the most influential economists in the world.

“This is a really big deal, and we’re thrilled to be presenting,” said Weiler, who will be joined in his presentation by former CSU graduate student Natalia Kravchenko.

Banks matter to small businesses

Weiler will talk about his findings in a study looking at the relationship between small business and bank lending.

“The fact the conference invited us to share our work suggests they are interested in small business and how important it is to local economies,” Weiler said. “It also points out how important banks are to the survival of small business. Small businesses are not only important in terms of providing jobs, they are the pioneers in our economy – if they survive and thrive that encourages other businesses to follow.”

Weiler has taught economics at CSU since 1996.