11Alive’s Valerie Hoff spoke with Goizueta professor Tom Smith about the nosedive in gas prices in Georgia.

It’s not as good news as you may think…

Economists say lower fuel prices are good for the economy overall.

“I think that any fear that we had about going into a recession into the next six, eight, 12 months is going to be alleviated because as you decrease oil prices and gas prices, this makes consumers a little bit more confident,” said Emory University economist Tom Smith.

About Tom Smith 

Thomas Smith joined the Goizueta Business School faculty in 2008. He has held faculty positions at the University of Illinois–Chicago, National-Louis University, Loyola University, and North Central College. Smith received a PhD in labor and demography/cultural economics and policy from the University of Illinois at Chicago in 1998. He holds a BA from Illinois Wesleyan University. He has presented dozens of papers at academic and professional conferences in the U.S. and abroad. He has served as a consultant for the arts, music and entertainment industry (National Endowment for the Arts, Joffrey Ballet of Chicago) and in curriculum development (University of Illinois-Chicago, Buck Institute for Education).