Southern California and was an Economist for the United States Department of Commerce. His doctoral study was at the University of California, San Diego, with the dissertation advice of Walter P. Heller and Nobel Prize winner C. W. J. Granger. Dr. Phillips received his Ph.D. in 1982.

Dr. Phillips has been author or coauthor of numerous monographs and a recently published book. In addition, his articles have appeared in various scholarly economics and finance journals including American Real Estate and Urban Economics Association Journal, The Appraisal Journal, Business Valuation Review, Defense Counsel Journal, Family Business Review, Industrial and Labor Relations Review, Journal of Business Forecasting, Journal of Forensic Economics, Journal of Insurance Issues and Practices, Journal of Monetary Economics, Journal of Risk and Insurance, and Litigation Economics Digest. He has also published research in the areas of biology, engineering, and religion. His research is generally in the area of expectation formation and valuation in incomplete or informationally constrained markets. He has served as a consultant to several governmental agencies as well as many of the Fortune 500. He has also served as an expert witness in Federal and State courts regarding statistics, econometrics, forecasting, economics, finance, and valuation.