The UCLA Anderson Forecast, one of the nation’s premier
institutions for predicting the future of the economy, has
appointed two new senior economists to its team of analysts.
Coming into new roles are former SBC Communications Director of
Economics Joe Hurd and Mike Bazdarich, director of the University
of California, Riverside Forecasting Center, both of whom will work
half-time.
Senior economist Tom Lieser has decided to retire, relinquishing
his position after 10 years of service.
While Hurd ““ who is officially replacing Lieser ““
will focus his analysis on California’s economy, Bazdarich
will provide expertise on national and local Southern Californian
economies.
Forecast Director Edward Leamer said the decision to hire an
extra economist was motivated by a desire to expand forecasting of
local economies.
“We’ve historically had a nation or California
orientation, but most businesses we deal with are local,” he
said. “(Bazdarich) has lots of knowledge working locally, and
Joe has a Bay Area orientation, too.”
Hurd, who will work from his home in Pleasant Hill, Calif.,
located in the East Bay near Oakland, has more than 20 years of
experience forecasting the state economy.
As the director of economics for SBC Communications,
Hurd’s work often included predicting the demand for products
in California, which familiarized him with interpreting the health
of the state economy.
Though this is the first time he will have worked for UCLA, Hurd
is no foreigner to either the UC system or the Anderson
Forecast.
“I’ve been associated with the Forecast for almost
20 years,” he said. “I’ve often given
presentations regarding the state of the economy in the Bay Area at
their conferences.”
Additionally, Hurd taught economics and statistics to
undergraduates at UC Davis for two years in the late 1970s, after
he received his doctorate in economics at UC Berkeley.
Bazdarich, on the other hand, worked at UC Riverside for 10
years as the director of UCR’s forecasting center.
Since 1985, the Los Angeles native has also operated his own
business, MB Economics, which provides economics consulting on U.S.
financial markets as well as specialization in interest rate
forecasting.
Bazdarich said the experience he brings to the Forecast will
help provide good predictions for regions of Southern California
like San Bernardino County.
“With the manpower we have, we also might look closer at
Orange County and San Diego ““ that could be in the
works,” he said.
On national economy issues, Bazdarich’s expertise with
financial markets will complement Leamer’s interest, which
tends to lie more with “Main Street” ““ or
macroeconomic issues such as labor and national growth, said Chris
Thornberg, also a senior economist for the Forecast.
Both recruits said they are excited to have joined a team of
analysts so highly praised for the work they do.
“They are very well respected for the U.S. forecast, and
they are certainly the premier group for California economy,”
Bazdarich said. “In a competitive industry, we are talking
about the pick of the litter.”
Leamer said Hurd and Bazdarich were both fitting in well with
the rest of the Forecast team.
“The idea is to create a team that interacts well, with
each person contributing their own background,” he said.
“Both were very good opportunities that came our way, and
we jumped on them,” he added.