Jock O'Connell

Jock O'Connell (born 1947) is a widely quoted ^[1] American economist whose research focuses on logistical issues associated with international trade. He is the International Trade Adviser to Beacon Economics, a leading economic consulting firm. He is also a member of the California Economic Strategy Panel's Technical Advisory Group ^[2] and the Committee on Intergovernmental Relations in Aviation of the Transportation Research Board. He formerly served as the International Trade & Economics Adviser at the University of California Center Sacramento and as a staff consultant to the California Commission for Economic Development.

In conjunction with Beacon Economics,^[3] Mr. O'Connell issues "The California Trade Report," a monthly analysis of California's position in world trade based on the latest data compiled by the U.S. Commerce Department.

Much of his recent research involves the condition of the California's international trade infrastructure. He was among the first to observe that, apart from facilitating commercial transactions, the Internet has emerged as a distinct mode of transport for a growing array of digitized products that had formerly been traded in tangible format. He has noted that, unlike conventional modes of shipping goods to markets worldwide, digitized trade via Internet transmissions or downloads elude the methods customarily used to monitor and measure trade flows. One implication is that exports from states like California which feature a robust software industry, may be under-reported by millions of dollars a year. In addition to his published studies, he has authored numerous op-ed articles that have appeared in The New York Times,^[4] the Los Angeles Times,^[5] and the San Francisco Chronicle, and on Salon.com.

During the 1980s, Mr. O'Connell was the international business consultant to the California Commission for Economic Development. In that capacity, he was actively involved in efforts to repeal or revise California's highly controversial Unitary Tax on multinational corporations doing business in the state. During a March 1985 mission to Tokyo, he met with representatives of Japan's Keidanren. During a visit to London in May 1985 to consult with British government officials and business leaders, The Times called him one of the leading authorities on the Unitary Tax.^[6]

Mr. O'Connell was born in Portland, Maine in 1947 and grew up on the coast of Maine. He attended Cheverus, a Jesuit preparatory school in Portland, and received his B.A. from the College of the Holy Cross in 1970. He then moved to California to pursue a doctoral degree at the University of California at Davis. He has also studied at the University of Vienna (Institute of European Studies) and at the London School of Economics, where he was a Fulbright Scholar. He now resides in Sacramento.

References

1. ↑ For numerous examples, see http://articles.latimes.com/keyword/jock-o-connell
2. ↑ See http://www.labor.ca.gov/panel/pdf/2007_Technical_Advisors.pdf
3. ↑ http://beaconecon.com/index.php
4. ↑ http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=950DE7DF133BF931A3575BC0A96F948260
5. ↑ http://articles.latimes.com/writers/jock-o%27connell
6. ↑ The Times, May 7, 1985, "Fight to end Unitary Tax at Crucial Stage" by Ian Griffiths

External links

• http://www.jockoconnell.com -- A website featuring links to Mr. O'Connell's published material dating back to 1988.