Chris Thornberg

Chris Thornberg Profile

Dr. Christopher Thornberg is one of California’s leading economists and Founding Partner of Beacon Economics, LLC. He 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. He is widely quoted in the media, including The Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times and Chicago Tribune. He has appeared on NBC’s The Today Show, ABC’s Nightline, CNN, FOX News Channel and NPR.

At UCLA, Dr. Thornberg was an economist with the Anderson Forecast, where he regularly authored economic outlooks for California, Los Angeles and the East Bay. He went on to teach in the MBA program at UC San Diego’s Rady School of Business and at Thammasat University in Bangkok. He has also held a faculty position in the economics department at Clemson University.

Dr. Thornberg has served on the advisory board of Wall Street hedge fund Paulson & Co. since 2006. He was one of the earliest and most accurate predictors of the subprime mortgage market crash in 2007, and the global recession that followed. From 2008 to 2012 he served as chief economic advisor to the California State Controller’s Office and as Chair of State Controller John Chiang’s Council of Economic Advisors. He has been involved in a number of special studies measuring the effects of important events on the economy, such as the NAFTA treaty, California electricity crisis, port security, California’s water transfer programs and the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.

Currently, Dr. Thornberg serves on the Residential Real Estate Committee at the University of San Diego’s Burnham-Moores Center for Real Estate and the National Association of Business Economists’ quarterly outlook panel. He contributes to the consensus outlook of the Journal of Business Forecasting an serves on the boards of the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce, the Central City Association, the Asian Real Estate Association of America and America’s Edge, a nonprofit organization dedicated to strengthening the economy through investments in youth and education.

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  Christopher Thornberg is Founding Partner of Beacon Economics, LLC and widely considered to be one of California’s leading economists. An expert in economic forecasting, regional economics, employment and labor markets, economic policy, and industry and real estate analysis, he was one of the earliest and most accurate predictors of the subprime mortgage market crash that began in 2007, and of the global economic recession that followed.

  Since 2006, Dr. Thornberg has served on the advisory board of Wall Street hedge fund Paulson & Co. Inc. Between 2008 and 2012, he was a chief economic advisor to the California State Controller’s Office and served as Chair of State Controller John Chiang’s Council of Economic Advisors – the body that advises the state’s chief fiscal officer about emerging economic issues.

  Widely quoted in the media, he has appeared on NBC’s The Today Show, ABC’s Nightline, CNN, FOX News Channel, NPR, and is regularly quoted in major national and California dailies including the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, and Chicago Tribune.

  Dr. Thornberg has been involved in a number of special studies measuring the effect of important events on the economy. These include the NAFTA treaty, the California electricity crisis, port security, California’s water transfer programs, and the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. He currently serves on the Residential Real Estate Committee at the University of San Diego’s Burnham-Moores Center for Real Estate. He is a panel member of the National Association of Business Economists ‘ quarterly outlook, and contributes to the consensus outlook of the Journal of Business Forecasting. He is on the boards of the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce, the Central City Association (Los Angeles), the Asian Real Estate Association of America, and America’s Edge, a nonprofit organization focused on strengthening the economy through public investments in youth and education.

  Prior to launching Beacon, he was an economist with UCLA’s Anderson Forecast where he regularly authored economic outlooks for California, Los Angeles, and the East Bay. He also developed a number of specialized forecasts for various regions and industries. Previously he has taught in the MBA program at UC San Diego’s Rady School of Business, at Thammasat University in Bangkok, Thailand, and has held a faculty position in the economics department at Clemson University.

  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.