Biography

Ataman Ozyildirim is an economist and director of business cycles and growth research at The Conference Board. He joined The Conference Board in 1999 as part of the Global Business Cycle Indicators Program that produces The Conference Board Leading Economic Index® for the United States, the Euro Area, China, and ten other countries. In addition to leading The Conference Board research program on business cycles and developing business cycle indexes for emerging economies, he also manages the research program in productivity, innovation and competitiveness, as well as on the annual Global Economic Outlook.

Ozyildirim is an expert on measurement, forecasting, and the analysis of business cycles. His research interests span applied macroeconomics, forecasting, forecast evaluation, international economics, and development economics. He has specialized in the development of business cycle indicators and in forecasting aggregate economic activity worldwide. He has published articles in international academic journals including Journal of Development Economics, Journal of Business and Economic Statistics, Journal of Monetary Economics, Journal of Forecasting, and China Economic Journal. Ozyildirim often speaks to business and professional audiences on economic and business cycle trends and is frequently cited by national and global media.

Before coming to The Conference Board, Ozyildirim worked for Management Science Associates, Inc. in Pittsburgh and served as a lecturer at Pennsylvania State University. A native of Istanbul, he received his BA in economics from Ithaca College and his PhD in economics from Pennsylvania State University.