September PURCE Luncheon with Ken Matheny

The Purdue University Research Center in Economics invites you to our first economic policy luncheon of the new school year! Please register to join us for a special guest:

Can We Pay for the Next National Emergency?

with Ken Matheny

11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Eastern

Wednesday, September 9, 2026

Rawls Hall, 3rd Floor Commons

100 S. Grant Street

Purdue’s West Lafayette campus

Professional economist Ken Matheny is a Fellow in Macroeconomic Policy at the Baker Institute. A thought leader, consultant, and speaker on issues in macroeconomics, policy, and financial markets, Matheny was Director of Macroeconomics at The Budget Lab at Yale University and previously taught at Purdue.  For more than 25 years he was a principal at Macroeconomic Advisers, a pre-eminent firm for macroeconomic forecasting and analysis.

U.S. national debt is rising quickly beyond 100% of annual GDP, the total value of final goods and services produced in the U.S. in one year. Plausible projections show the national debt rising to 175% of GDP or even higher in coming decades. Matheny will ask and explore: Do such fiscal trajectories with rapid increases in national debt limit the ability to respond effectively to national emergencies? 

Space is limited for PURCE luncheons and registration is required. Please register here by noon on Friday, September 4. We look forward to seeing you in Rawls Hall for a catered lunch, networking, and a Q&A with Matheny following his talk.