March 7, 1997


            MICHAEL H. RIORDAN WILL SUCCEED JOSEPH FARRELL
                     AS CHIEF ECONOMIST OF FCC

     Michael H. Riordan will become  Chief Economist of the Federal Communications
Commission.  Dr. Riordan will succeed Joseph Farrell.  

     Chairman Reed Hundt said, "I am pleased that Michael is bringing his vast knowledge
and economic expertise to the FCC.  Especially now, as the Commission moves forward to
implement the Telecom Act, it is critically important to ensure that all of our decisionmaking
relies on the best economic advice.  Michael's past experience will help us meet the many
challenges that lie ahead."  

     He said "The Commission has been  fortunate to have had an economist of Joe's calibre
on our staff.  His first-rate economic analyses of market conditions have assisted the
Commission tremendously in our decision-making."

     Riordan has been a professor of economics at Boston University since 1988 and he has
served as Director of the  Industry Studies Program in the Department of Economics since the
program's founding in 1990.

     While at Boston University, Riordan was Editor of the RAND Journal of Economics
and Associate Editor of the Quarterly Journal of Economics. Riordan has written numerous
journal articles on the economics of contracting, industrial organization, regulation and
antitrust, with particular attention to problems of incentives. 

     Previously, Riordan was an Assistant Professor at Stanford University and the
University of Pennsylvania.  From 1992-93, Riordan served as Economic Advisor to
Commissioner Dennis A. Yao at the Federal Trade Commission.

     Riordan received his B.S. in International Relations in 1973 from Georgetown
University; an M.A., with distinction, in Economics in 1975 from University of Essex; and a
Ph.D in Economics in 1981 from University of California at Berkeley.
                                  
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