Cynthia Kroll

Dr. Cynthia Kroll is Chief Economist of the Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG). She oversees agency economic analysis and the regional forecast, directs agency research, coordinates regional economic development efforts, supervises a team of professionals, and is a frequent speaker on economic topics. Dr. Kroll has published widely and is a frequent speaker at public events. She specializes in topic areas that tie economic, social and scientific knowledge to public policy concerns at the state, regional, local, and industry levels.

Prior to joining ABAG, Dr. Kroll served as Executive Director for Staff Research, and as a Senior Regional Economist for the Fisher Center for Real Estate and Urban Economics at the University of California Berkeley. She led major research projects on the California economy, the real estate industry, housing and land use policy, housing affordability, economic development, the globalization of labor markets, and the structure of the high-tech industry. She also researched green technologies in the economy and in building design, economic crises, and social, economic, land use and real estate considerations in natural disasters. She previously worked for the California Office of Economic Policy Planning and Research, SRI International, as well as an earlier year at ABAG working on a regional economic development strategy. As a consultant, Dr. Kroll has worked on the social and economic impacts of energy facilities.

Dr. Kroll is a member of Lambda Alpha (Land Economics honors society), the Urban Land Institute, the American Planning Association, the American Real Estate and Urban Economics Association, and the Industry Studies Association. She has served on the Research Council of the Bay Area Council Economic Institute and the California Controller’s Office Council of Economic Advisors.

Dr. Kroll earned her Masters and PhD degrees in City and Regional Planning and a Bachelor’s degree in Social Science and Art from the University of California Berkeley, She has published articles, books and reports on a wide range of topics. Recent research from ABAG includes the Regional Forecast for Plan Bay Area 2040 (2016), State of the Region report (March 2015) and a working paper on “Effects of TOD Location on Affordable Housing Tenants” (September 2015). She is coeditor of The Oxford Handbook of Offshoring and Global Employment (Oxford University Press, 2013) and Global Housing Markets (John Wiley & Sons, 2012), and coauthor of Globalization and a High Tech Economy (Kluwer Academic Publishers, 2004) and New Jobs for the Timber Region (1984).

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