Christopher Thornberg, PhD, Director of UC Riverside School of Business Center for Economic Forecasting and Development
Christopher Thornberg is Director of the UC Riverside School of Business Center for Economic Forecasting and Development and an Adjunct Professor at the School. He is also the Founding Partner of Beacon Economics LLC.
An expert in economic and revenue forecasting, regional economics, economic policy, and labor and real estate markets, Dr. Thornberg has consulted for private industry, cities, counties, and public agencies in Los Angeles, San Francisco and the Bay Area, San Diego, the Inland Empire, Seattle, Orange County, Sacramento, Nevada, and other geographies across the nation. Dr. Thornberg became nationally known for forecasting the subprime mortgage market crash that began in 2007, and was one of the few economists on record to predict the global economic recession that followed.
In 2015, he was named to California State Treasurer John Chiang’s Council of Economic Advisors, the body that advises the Treasurer on emerging strengths and vulnerabilities within the state’s economy. From 2008 to 2012, he served as economic advisor to the California State Controller’s Office, and as Chair of then State Controller John Chiang’s Council of Economic Advisors.
A well-known media commentator, Dr. Thornberg has appeared on CNN and NPR and is regularly quoted in major national dailies including the Wall Street Journal and New York Times.
Originally from upstate New York, Dr. Thornberg holds a Ph.D in Business Economics from The Anderson School at UCLA, and a B.S. degree in Business Administration from the State University of New York at Buffalo.
About
As the economic downturn caused by the COVID-19 pandemic fades further into our rearview mirror, the impact of the massive fiscal stimulus that was injected into the U.S. economy during the crisis has taken center stage. The historic stimulus created an enormous amount of private sector wealth, which has shown in the form of high savings rates, excessive consumption, rapidly rising asset markets, and exploding home prices.
At this year's conference, Dr. Christopher Thornberg will present a comprehensive forecast for the national, state, and Inland Empire economies, addressing the most important trends that will affect consumers, businesses, real estate markets, and government through 2022 and beyond.
Key questions he'll answer include:
Will price inflation end any time soon?
If the Federal Reserve and Congress don't reverse course on the massive stimulus soon, will the U.S. economy hurtle towards a crash worse than the Great Recession?
What path will prices and interest rates take if inflation continues to accelerate? And what are the consequences?
Drilling down, Dr. Taner Osman will present findings from recent analyses of San Bernardino County's labor and real estate markets. He'll discuss the direction local home prices will be taking in the near term future, how commercial real estate markets from retail to office to industrial have changed throughout the pandemic and what the effect has been in SB County, and how the local labor force is trending in terms of both growth and job numbers.
KEYNOTE SPEAKER
California State Treasurer – Fiona Ma
San Bernardino County Labor and
Real Estate Market Update
Taner Osman, PhD | Research Manager, UCR Center for Economic Forecasting and Development
President & CEO of Inland Empire Regional Chamber of Commerce
Edward is a Los Angeles native who now calls N. Fontana home. He has been spearheading the Inland Empire Regional Chamber of Commerce (IERCC) since 20...