Western Washington University is bringing its economic expertise to a statewide stage this summer. WWU's Center for Economic and Financial Education will co-host the third annual Washington Economics Symposium on Tuesday, July 28, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the University of Washington's Bothell campus. The full-day event brings together economists, educators, policymakers, and business leaders to examine the forces shaping Washington State's economy.
This is the third year the symposium has taken place, making it a still-young but increasingly established gathering for economic dialogue in the Pacific Northwest. WWU's involvement as a co-host reflects the university's growing profile in applied economic research and financial literacy education. The Center for Economic and Financial Education, which operates out of WWU's College of Business and Economics in Bellingham, has been active in K-12 financial literacy outreach and higher education economics programming across the state.
The symposium's speaker sessions are designed to examine the forces shaping Washington's economy, with a forward-looking lens. Washington State's economic landscape is complex and dynamic: the Seattle metropolitan area continues to serve as a major tech employment hub even as the sector navigates workforce adjustments, while rural and coastal communities, including those in Whatcom County, grapple with a different set of pressures around agriculture, fisheries, trade, housing affordability, and local employment.
For Whatcom County residents, economic dynamics play out in specific and tangible ways. Bellingham sits at the intersection of several economic systems: a regional service and retail hub, a university town, an agricultural county, a border economy with significant trade and tourism links to Canada, and a growing destination for remote workers relocating from more expensive urban areas. Whatcom County's housing market, labor market, and small business environment are each connected to state-level policy and macroeconomic conditions in ways that make events like this symposium relevant beyond Olympia or Seattle.
WWU's participation as a co-host places the university alongside the University of Washington in shaping the agenda and speakers for the event. The collaboration between the two flagship state university systems on an economics symposium reflects a broader trend of cross-institutional cooperation on policy-relevant research and public engagement.
Attendance details, registration information, and the full speaker lineup for the July 28 symposium can be found through WWU News and the Center for Economic and Financial Education's official communications. The event takes place at the UW Bothell campus, which is approximately two hours south of Bellingham via I-5.
For educators, economic researchers, business owners, and anyone with a stake in Washington's economic future, the symposium represents a rare opportunity to hear from multiple economic voices in a structured, single-day format. WWU's involvement ensures that the interests of northwest Washington, including Whatcom County and the broader Bellingham region, are represented in the discussion. For more on recent academic achievements at WWU, this year's commencement celebrated over 2,500 graduates from the Bellingham campus.
