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UC Riverside closed its economic research center, several weeks after questions were raised regarding the school’s relationship with the private consulting firm that ran that operation.
Beacon Economics in Los Angeles will no longer run the Center for Economic Forecasting Development, which Beacon has run since the company was founded in 2015, according to published reports.
John Warren, UC Riverside spokesman, said in an emailed statement to the Los Angeles Times last month that Beacon Economics will no longer operate the research center.
That decision was made after faculty and students protested the relationship between Beacon and the university, claiming Beacon was using corporate money to produce reports that attacked proposes meant to help working-class Californians.
Opponents also charged that Beacon, which reportedly received nearly $141,000 a year for its services, lacked financial transparency and economic oversight.
UC Riverside’s contract with Beacon expired in December. Beacon officials have denied slanting their research in favor of any group or individual.
