03/25/2024

Dr. Christopher Thornberg, - 2025 AZSA Conference - Keynote Speaker

Founding Partner | Beacon Economics

Notably, he predicted the collapse of the sub-prime real estate bubble in 2006 and the Great Recession that followed. During the Covid-19 pandemic he was one of the few economists on record to correctly push back against the forecasting community’s panicked predictions of a depression. In the past two years, he has again stood against the grain, and stood out, for accurately forecasting that there would be no recession.

Dr. Thornberg left a teaching position at UCLA’s Business School in 2006 to found Beacon Economics, and under his leadership, the firm has become one of the nation’s most respected economic research organizations. He consults globally for private industry, cities, counties, and public agencies. A dynamic public speaker, he challenges audiences to question popular narratives – and to ask theright economic questions.

ABOUT BEACON ECONOMICS

Founded in 2006, Beacon Economics, an LLC and certified Small Business Enterprise (SBE) with
the state of California, is a leading independent research and consulting firm dedicated to
delivering accurate, insightful, and objectively-based economic analysis. Leveraging unique
proprietary models, vast databases, and sophisticated data processing, the firm equips its
clients with the analysis needed to understand on-the-ground realities and make informed
business and policy decisions. Practice areas include sustainable growth and development;
housing, land use, and real estate markets; economic, fiscal, and social impact analysis; public
policy analysis; regional economics; and EB-5 Visa analysis. In 2015, the firm partnered with the
University of California, Riverside in establishing the Center for Economic Forecasting and
Development at the School of Business. Beacon Economics’ internationally recognized
forecasters were also among the first and most accurate predictors of the U.S. mortgage
market meltdown that began in 2007 – and among a relatively small handful of researchers
who correctly calculated the depth and breadth of the financial and economic crisis that
followed. Clients range from the State of California to Fortune 500 companies to major cities
and universities. Learn more at www.BeaconEcon.com.