Economics roundtable: Three local economists take a look back at the 2019 economy, make predictions

Dennis Hoffman, director of the L. William Seidman Research Institute, and Mark Stapp, executive director of the Master of Real Estate Development program, share their expert economic opinions.

Dennis Hoffman, director of the L. William Seidman Research Institute, and Mark Stapp, executive director of the Master of Real Estate Development program, share their expert economic opinions.

In this story aired Dec. 23, 2019, on Arizona Horizon:

The economy is doing well. It continues to do well. There were some rumblings through the summer with the yield curve inversion. There are some signals coming out of the manufacturing sector that portend some weaknesses. But for those doom-and-gloomers out there, the first Friday in December was bad news for them because we created a lot of jobs. It's suggesting that all we need is the consumer. As long as the consumer holds in, the economy will be fine.

– Dennis Hoffman, professor of economics and director of the L. William Seidman Research Institute

The part of the wage growth that I'm most concerned about is the lower end of the wage scale. Although there's been some increase in wages, mostly due to the minimum wage increase, it's not keeping up with housing cost increases. That's a real potential problem for us. If we can't get a handle on that, it's going to be a drag on the entire Metropolitan area. As good as everything is — we're excited about it — McKinsey & Company just did a study that came out about the effect affordable housing has on Los Angeles, and they lose $3.6 billion a year as a result of that. So, we've got to be concerned with it.

– Mark Stapp, executive director of the Master of Real Estate Development program and Fred E. Taylor Professor in Real Estate