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UCLA Anderson Forecast Announces New Additions to Economic Forecasting Team
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February 6, 2004
UCLA Anderson Forecast
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Los Angeles — The UCLA Anderson Forecast, one of the nation's most accurate
and widely followed economic forecasts, announces changes to their economist
team. Joseph Hurd and Michael Bazdarich will join the UCLA Anderson Forecast
as senior economists in an effort to expand forecasting of the national economy
and key California regions. In a related move, Dr. Tom Lieser, known for his
accurate California economic forecasts, has retired from his position as senior
economist after serving more than 10 years with the UCLA Anderson Forecast.
"We're pleased to welcome Dr. Bazdarich and Dr. Hurd to our forecasting team.
Many business decisions are local and do not depend much on what is happening
in the US overall, or even in California. With the assistance of Dr. Bazdarich
and Dr. Hurd we will expand our offerings to include forecasts and insights for
some key California regions, in addition to our Los Angeles products developed
by Dr. Christopher Thornberg," said Edward Leamer, director, UCLA Anderson Forecast
and professor of global economics and management at UCLA Anderson School of Management.
"We would also like to thank Tom for his years of excellent work with the Forecast.
His research and analyses of California's economic climate through the years have
made a significant impact and we will greatly miss him. We wish him the best with
his retirement," said Dr. Leamer.
Dr. Hurd will assume responsibility for the California forecast, overseeing key
regions within California's economy. He will also specialize in the Bay Area economy.
Dr. Hurd formerly served as director of economics for SBC Communications, where,
among his responsibilities, he forecasted the demand for SBC products in California.
His background includes more than 20 years of forecasting the California economy,
while serving in an advisory role to the UCLA Anderson Forecast. He also taught
economics and statistics at UC Davis in the late 1970s, after he received a Ph.D.
in economics at UC Berkeley. Dr. Hurd will work from the Bay Area, where he currently
resides.
Previously serving for 10 years as Director of the Inland Empire Economic Data and
Forecasting Center at UC Riverside, Dr. Bazdarich will bring his expertise to the
UCLA Anderson Forecast. His background lies in forecasting the national and Southern
California economies, and he will continue to cover the inland Empire. Dr. Bazdarich
will also work closely with Dr. Leamer in forecasting the economy of the nation. He
owns his own company, MB Economics, which provides economics consulting on U.S. financial
markets with a specialization in interest rate forecasting. His other experience includes
work with the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, United California Bank, and Claremont
Economics Institute. Dr. Bazdarich received a BA from Santa Clara in 1971 and a Ph.D. in
economics from the University of Chicago in 1978.
Senior Economist Christopher Thornberg will continue to project Los Angeles and other
local economic forecasts.
UCLA Anderson Forecast Team Contact Information:
Dr. Edward E. Leamer, Director (National economy)
Phone: (310) 206-1452
Dr. Michael Bazdarich, Senior Economist (National and So. California economies)
Phone: (818) 266-6631
Dr. Joseph Hurd, Senior Economist (California and bay area economies)
Phone: (925) 939-4926
Dr. Christopher Thornberg, Senior Economist (Los Angeles and Southern California economies)
Phone: (310) 794-6382
If you would like to contact the above economists, please feel free to call them directly.
If you should need assistance in reaching them, please contact Hilary Rehder, media relations
specialist, UCLA Anderson School of Management at (310) 206-7707.
For more than fifty years, the UCLA Anderson Forecast has provided forecasts for the economies
of California and the United States. Founded in the early 1952, the UCLA Anderson Forecast has
become one of the country's leading independent economic forecast services. The Forecast produces
forecasts for the economies of the nation, the state of California, and the Southern California
region, based upon numerical projections for major economic indicators, such as inflation,
interest rates, job growth and gross domestic product growth. The Forecast holds four quarterly
conferences annually - each addressing a topical theme.
About UCLA Anderson Forecast
The UCLA Anderson Forecast is one of the most widely watched and often-cited economic outlooks for California
and the nation, and was unique in predicting both the seriousness of the early-1990s downturn in California,
and the strength of the state's rebound since 1993. Most recently, the Forecast is credited as the first
major U.S. economic forecasting group to declare the recession of 2001.
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