Click here to view a recording of this presentation.
Click here to view the slides from this presentation.
The Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG) is the country’s largest Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) and includes six counties in Southern California, spanning over 38k square miles. SCAG serves 18.7 million residents, accounting for 48 percent of California’s population. With a GDP of $1.6 trillion, the SCAG region was the 15 largest economy in the world in 2021. The SCAG region’s size and its social, economic, and political diversity raise planning challenges but also position the region as a leader in economic and policy innovation. In the Fall of 2023, SCAG released the 2024 Connect SoCal Plan, SCAG’s quadrennial Regional Transportation Plan and Sustainable Communities Strategy. Connect SoCal outlines the region’s long-range transportation plan and strategies for reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
In this webinar, Gigi Moreno, Ph.D., SCAG’s Senior Economist, will share recent economic indicators for the SCAG region and SCAG’s regional economic outlook for 2024. While the SCAG region’s economy reflects the U.S. economy, Dr. Moreno will highlight distinct features of the SCAG economy and highlight how regional economic differences can shape local economic trends and inform regional planning. In this webinar, Dr. Moreno will also delve into SCAG’s economic impact analysis of Connect SoCal, which includes an economic impact analysis using the REMI TranSight model, an estimate of the economic benefits of reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and an analysis of the economic impacts of a more inclusive and equitable labor market.
Gigi Moreno, Ph.D.
Senior Economist
Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG)
Dr. Gigi Moreno is a Senior Economist with the Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG). She has worked as an applied economist in various roles, including economic consulting, healthcare consulting, academia, and the public sector. At SCAG, Dr. Moreno focuses on policy strategies for inclusive economic growth and is responsible for SCAG’s long-range employment projections, integral to the agency’s regional land use plan and environmental compliance strategy. Prior to joining SCAG, Dr. Moreno taught environmental economic and industrial organization at Cal State University, Long Beach. Dr. Moreno has published numerous peer-reviewed papers in health economics, agricultural and environmental economics, cannabis economics, and climate change policy. In addition to a B.A. in economics from Carleton College, Dr. Moreno has a Ph.D. in Agricultural & Natural Resource Economics from UC Berkeley and a certificate in Geospatial Science from UCLA.
