Camarillo, Calif., Feb. 16, 2012 – The Wall Street Journal has ranked Dr. Sung Won Sohn, CSU Channel Islands (CI) Endowed Professor of Economics and Director of the Institute for Global Economic Research, third in its annual survey of top economists. The rankings, published this week in the Wall Street Journal, rate the forecasting accuracy of 52 leading economic experts in predicting the path the nation’s economy would take in 2011.
To compile the rankings, the Wall Street Journal asked the economists to make predictions in January 2011 about how inflation, unemployment, interest rates and economic output would perform during the year. Sohn, with an overall score of 78.6, was among the most accurate in his forecasts for more than 10 key economic indicators.
“I’m overjoyed and also humbled because I have very limited resources,” Sohn said in acknowledging the rating. “I compete with the likes of Goldman Sachs, Citibank and Bank of America, who have dozens of economists working on the same forecast. Essentially, I’m just a one-man operation.”
This is the third time that Sohn has earned the prestigious ranking. He was named the nation’s most accurate economist by the Wall Street Journal in 2006 and ranked among the top five in 2010. His accuracy has also been noted by Time magazine and Bloomberg News.
“I try to take a global view and not just rely on statistics but also what is going on in the real world. I maintain contacts with all kinds of businesses throughout the world and talk to them frequently,” Sohn said. “Most economic ups and downs and volatility are coming from outside of the U.S., whether they’re influenced by the Japanese tsunami or the price of oil. I think that global economic view is helping our forecast.”
Sohn joined the CI faculty in 2008 as the Martin V. Smith School of Business & Economics, Endowed Professor of Economics and helped launch the Institute for Global Economic Research as its Director in 2011.
He has served as a senior economic advisor to the White House, President and CEO of Hanmi Bank, Chief Economic Officer and Executive Vice President of Wells Fargo Banks, and currently holds positions as Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors for Forever 21 and Commissioner at the Port of Los Angeles. He is author of the 2009 book, “Global Financial Crisis and Exit Strategy.”
Sohn was educated at the University of Pittsburgh and Harvard Business School.
View the Wall Street Journal rankings at:
http://online.wsj.com/public/page/economic-forecasting.html
Contact Dr. Sung Won Sohn at 805-437-2789 or sung.sohn@csuci.edu or view his forecasts. Information on CI’s Institute for Global Economic Research can be found at http://iger.csuci.edu/.
# # #
About California State University Channel Islands
CSU Channel Islands(CI) is the only four-year, public university in Ventura County and is known for its interdisciplinary, multicultural and international perspectives, and its emphasis on experiential and service learning. CI’s strong academic programs focus on business, sciences, liberal studies, teaching credentials, and innovative master’s degrees. Students benefit from individual attention, up-to-date technology, and classroom instruction augmented by outstanding faculty research. CI has been designated by the U.S. Department of Education as a Hispanic-Serving Institution and is committed to serving students of all backgrounds from the region and beyond. Connect with and learn more by visiting CI's Social Media.