LOS ANGELES -- One of the country’s leading urban economists who spent the past six years on the staff of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors has joined the USC Lusk Center for Real Estate. Raphael Bostic, Ph.D., an authority on fair-lending and community redevelopment, will direct the Lusk Center’s Casden Real Estate Economics Forecast. This annual research report measures the health of Southern California's real estate market and predicts its directions.
It was the 1992 Los Angeles riots that focused Bostic on urban economics. He said the destruction of the inner city intensified his interest in learning why private investment in underserved areas was not reaching the people that were supposed to benefit. Bostic joined the Fed so he could help shape a policy making process that was fair to both lenders and the community.
Bostic, a New Jersey native, said he was attracted to USC because of the Lusk Center’s critical mass of real estate expertise and its reputation as a leading center of real estate research. With a Ph.D. from Stanford, an undergraduate degree from Harvard, and a stint at the Department of Housing and Urban Development, Bostic was courted by several major universities when he announced his desire to return to teaching and academic research.
At USC, Bostic will be teaching graduate students enrolled in the Masters in Real Estate Development program through the School of Policy, Planning and Development.
Dr. Bostic can be reached directly at 213-740-1220 or via email: bostic@usc.edu