A combination of investments in infrastructure and continued development in trade overseas would assist in the nation’s ability to stimulate America’s economic growth and increase employment, a group of panelists suggested at the Democratic National Convention.

The panel, hosted by Politico, included White House Communications Director Dan Pfeiffer, University of Chicago economics professor Austan Goolsbee, Gov. Jack Markell of Delaware and Susan Molinari, who heads Google Inc.'s lobbying and policy office in Washington, D.C.

Markell said that increased investment in building and refurbishing the nation’s roads, bridges and buildings would provide thousands of new jobs while improving the nation’s economic outlook.

Molinari said that it was important for companies to have a presence online to better market themselves and their products. Furthermore, she said it was critical for Americans to have programs to help them develop the skills to be competitive in the job market of the next generation.

The event was one of many discussions, seminars and working meetings being held this week during the Democratic National Convention. Convention organizers said that they had sought to offer a convention that would go beyond being a platform for President Obama’s re-election.

The presence of Molinari at the Democratic National Convention was particularly striking. A former Republican congresswoman from Staten Island, N.Y., Molinari was the keynote speaker at the 1996 Republican National Convention, where Bob Dole was nominated for president.

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(Photo: Jonathan Alcorn/Bloomberg via Getty Images)