Tracy Hofer, assistant professor of economics at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point (UWSP), has returned from a 12-day trip to the Ukraine, sponsored by the National Council for Economic Education�s Cooperative Education Exchange Program, the U.S. Department of Education and Department of State.

"While there is much hope for the Ukraine and its economic reformation, much remains to be done," said Hofer. "My hope is to continue this relationship and assist Ukrainians in their efforts to learn more about market systems and to teach their students how to live and thrive under a market oriented economic structure. The end game is to have Ukrainians self-sufficient in economic education."

The Cooperative Education Exchange Program helps international partners reform their educational systems that are often unprepared to teach basic free market principles. U.S. economic educators, such as Professor Hofer, focus on how Ukrainians can set up an economic education curriculum to meet these new political and economic realities.

Hofer plans to set up a Web site about her trip, including photos, in the coming months. Her plan is to make a second trip to the Ukraine sometime in the next two years.

She holds a bachelor�s degree from Boston University and a master�s degree and Ph.D. from the University of Texas�Austin. Prior to joining the UWSP faculty in 1999, Hofer was a lecturer at her alma mater in Texas. Her areas of expertise include international economics, development economics and macroeconomic theory. She is a member of the American Economic Association.

Last year the Midwest Business Administration Association recognized Hofer with the Distinguished Paper Award. The Midwest Business Economics Association nominated her paper, "Free Trade Agreements Are Rarely Politically Viable in the Long Run," for the award.

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