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Economic Predictions Awaited Businesses of all sorts...

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John O'Dell covers major Orange County corporations, manufacturing and economic issues for The Times. He can be reached at (714) 966-5831 and at john.odell@latimes.com

Economic Predictions Awaited Businesses of all sorts are lining up for seats next week for the second act of Next Year in Orange County--an annual three-act production of the county’s major universities.

It began in October, when Cal State Fullerton’s school of business administration and economics presented its yearly economic forecast. The curtain goes up Dec. 5 on the patriarch of local economic prognostications--the annual outlook conference of the Chapman University Center for Economic Research. Then in January or February, UC Irvine issues its Orange County Executive Survey.

The general thesis at Chapman’s 19th annual conference won’t differ much from Cal State Fullerton’s--things finally are good and they’ll be getting better for at least another year. But Chapman economist Esmael Adibi promises a plethora of data for budget and business planners to use in coming months.

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A new section of the Chapman report will deal with the export business and its increasingly important role in the county. “It has gotten to be an extremely strong part of the overall economy,” Adibi said.

Chapman’s forecasters have developed a method of deducing how many jobs in the county owe their existence to the export business. The 1997 forecast will present that number, along with a 5-year growth prediction for export-related employment.

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