UCLA Anderson Forecast Celebrates 70 Years of Independent Analysis

On October 12, the UCLA Anderson Forecast marked its 70th anniversary with a celebration held in the Grand Salon of Marion Anderson Hall. The event highlighted the many milestones of the research center renowned for its independence, including the founding of the Business Forecasting Project by Professor Robert M. Williams. The Forecast was the first economic group to call the recessions of 1990, 2001 and 2020 and has more recently given special focus to commercial real estate, China-U.S. business relations and microbusinesses. The October anniversary event also introduced the first cohort of undergraduate Forecast Fellows.

Speakers included UCLA Anderson’s Dean Tony Bernardo, longtime senior economist David Shulman (’66, Ph.D. ’75), former director of the UCLA Anderson Forecast Professor Emeritus Ed Leamer and Professor Jerry Nickelsburg, the current faculty director of the Forecast.

Clockwise from top left: Jerry Nickelsburg, David Shulman, Tony Bernardo, Ed Leamer

One of the highlights of the event was a prerecorded conversation between Leamer and two-time California Governor Jerry Brown, who as governor frequently consulted with the Anderson Forecast on economic issues.

Listen to the conversation between Ed Leamer and Jerry Brown.