The Economic and Revenue Forecaset Council on Sept. 2 named WSU graduate Arun Raha as the state’s new top economist.
Raha, who earned his doctorate in economics from Washington State University, will take over as executive director of the state Economic and Revenue Forecast Council. The bipartisan council provides official predictions of tax revenues and general economic conditions to the governor and the Legislature.
Raha replaces interim director Steve Lerch and former director Chang Mook Sohn.
Since 2005 he has been vice president for economic research & consulting at Swiss Re in New York, the world’s largest reinsurer, headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland. In that capacity he was responsible for forecasts of North American macroeconomic, financial, and property-casualty insurance markets.
Prior to that, Raha managed economic analysis at Eaton Corporation, a global diversified industrial manufacturer. While at Eaton, Raha served on the Ohio Governor’s Council of Economic Advisors. In the late 1990s Raha was Director of the Asia Service at the world’s leading economic and information consulting firm, WEFA (now Global Insight, Inc.).
