Southern California economist Jack Kyser dies at 76

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Jack Kyser, the dean of Los Angeles economists who spoke as an expert on Southern California to media around the world, has died. He was 76.

Kyser had a long career focusing on the workings of the Southern California economy and spoke with authority on a wide range of topics. He was best known as a representative of the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp.

Kyser was born in Huntington Park and raised in Downey and Vernon. He earned a bachelor’s degree and a masters of business administration from USC.

With the exception of a forecasting stint in Omaha for Union Pacific Railroad, Kyser spent his career focusing on the workings of the Southern California economy. He worked for United California Bank and spent eight years as an economist with the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce.

Kyser joined the LAEDC in 1991, when it had no economics research department. Today, the department has five full-time staff members. The LAEDC named its research center after Kyser, whom it started calling a ‘founding economist,’ in 2008.

A full obituary will follow at latimes.com/obits.

-- Roger Vincent