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Ross C. DeVol is Director, Regional Economics and the Center for Health Economics at the Milken Institute. He oversees the Institute's research efforts on the dynamics of comparative regional growth performance. He is also an appointee to the California State Controller's Council of Economic Advisors, a panel formed in 2007 to advise the controller on emerging strengths and vulnerabilities in the state's economy, major issues and trends that may affect the state's fiscal health and how to make the best use of limited government revenues and resources.Since joining the Institute, DeVol has put his group in the national limelight with groundbreaking research on technology and its impact on regional and national economies. He is an expert on the new intangible economy and how regions can prepare themselves to compete in it. He examines the effects of technology, research and development activities, international trade, human capital and labor-force skills training, entrepreneurship, early-stage financing and quality-of-place issues on the geographic distribution of economic activity. DeVol is ranked among the "Super Stars" of Think Tank Scholars by International Economy magazine.His most recent work involves the study of biotechnology and other life-sciences clusters, and the impact these industries have on regional economies. He was the lead author of "Mind-to-Market: A Global Analysis of University Biotechnology Transfer and Commercialization," released in September 2006. This study looked at the transfer and commercialization of university-developed intellectual property on a global basis, with particular focus on biotechnology. "The Greater Philadelphia Life Sciences Cluster: An Economic and Comparative Assessment" provided a comprehensive look at the economic impact, breadth and depth of the life sciences sector in the Greater Philadelphia region relative to other leading regions.DeVol was the lead author of "Biopharmaceutical Contributions to State and U.S. Economies," released in October 2004, documenting the large economic impact of the industry and analyzing which states are best positioned for future growth. In "America's Biotech and Life Science Cluster," he and his colleagues researched leading clusters and San Diego's position among them, and highlighted the key factors determining success. He co-authored "The Economic Contributions of Health Care to New England," which constituted the first detailed examination of the concentration, innovation capacities, growth and economic-multiplier impacts of health care in that region. He authored the Policy Brief "America's Health-Care Economy" in August 2003 the first comprehensive benchmarking of the nation's leading health-care clusters.He completed a significant study in July 1999, "America's High-Tech Economy: Growth, Development, and Risks for Metropolitan Areas," an examination of how clusters of high-tech industries across the country affect economic growth in those regions. It has been translated into Chinese and published in China. His "Best Performing Cities: Where America’s Jobs Are Created," published in November 2004, researched which cities are creating jobs and economic opportunity and described the factors determining long-term success. This is a continuation of research previously that was published annually by Forbes. He has authored studies examining how to harness the research and innovation capacity of a region to build high-tech clusters based on new technologies.Released in March 2004, "State Technology and Science Index: Enduring Lessons for the Intangible Economy," analyzes investments in science and technology ? from higher education to industry research and development ? and their role in deciding the fates of regional economies. He was the principle author of an April 2001 study commissioned by former Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan's office examining the impact of a potential entertainment industry strike on the Los Angeles and California economies. He was the principle author of a study released in January 2002 that examined how the terrorist attacks were affecting travel, tourism and other industries across the country. He was the principle author of a study examining the economic impact of a sales-tax reduction on manufacturing equipment in California. He was co-author of "Manufacturing Matters: California's Performance and Prospects," which analyzed the importance of manufacturing to the state's economy.Prior to joining the Institute, DeVol was senior vice president of Global Insight Inc. (formerly Wharton Econometric Forecasting), where he supervised the firm's Regional Economic Services group. DeVol supervised the respecification of Global Insight's regional econometric models and played an instrumental role on similar work on its U.S. Macro Model, originally developed by Nobel Laureate Lawrence Klein. He was the firm's chief spokesman on international trade. He also served as the head of Global Insight's U.S. Long-Term Macro Service and authored special reports on behalf of the U.S. Macro Group.DeVol was previously director of economic planning at CSX, where he was responsible for U.S. macroeconomic and industry analysis, and worked with former U.S. Treasury Secretary John Snow. He was also an economist at Chase Econometrics and an economic analyst at Union Pacific.DeVol appears on national television and radio programs, including CNN’s "Moneyline," CNBC's "Kudlow and Cramer" and NPR's "Talk of the Nation." He is frequently quoted in print media, such as The Wall Street Journal, Investor's Business Daily, The Los Angeles Times, Forbes, The Economist, Time, Business Week and others.DeVol received his M.A. in economics from Ohio University. | 