2023 Economic Forecast
Rebecca Gunnlaughsson, Ph.D.
Dr. Gunnlaugsson is an economist specializing in statistical analysis and econometric modeling of public finance and taxation policy issues. She is the President of Acuitas Economics and formerly served as the Director of the Division of Research and subsequently Chief Economist at the South Carolina Department of Commerce. She began her career with Accenture where she was involved in firm-wide business and technology implementations.
She has done extensive research on taxation and optimization for long term economic growth, having testified before the 2009 Senate Finance Committee on Unemployment Insurance, the 2010 South Carolina Tax Realignment Commission (TRAC), the 2017 South Carolina House Tax Policy Review Committee, and the 2018 Senate Subcommittee for Tax Review and Reform. Additionally, she has served on the 2016 Governor’s Local Government Competitiveness Council and is currently Vice-Chair of the South Carolina Retirement Systems Investment Commission.
Dr. Gunnlaugsson received her Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees in Mechanical Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and her Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Michigan.
