Yet as California Democrats exult in what they see as a glowing future, they are turning away from the models that once drove their party’s (and the state’s) success—a commitment to growth, upward mobility, and dispersed property ownership. California’s current prosperity is largely due to the legacy of Governor Pat Brown, who, a half-century ago, […]
Robust hiring is drawing people into the U.S. labor market, a healthy mix that suggests the economy can run strong without overheating and forcing the Federal Reserve to curb growth with aggressive interest-rate increases.
Business executives, including those in clean tech, R&D, manufacturing, and other industries highly coveted by California public officials, say the high costs of housing and real estate, poor quality education system, and expensive costs to do business are among the primary reasons why they are not locating or expanding in the Golden State. These are […]
California’s elected officials must be in La La Land when they state that California’s economy is thriving in large part because of its emphasis on enacting sweeping environmental legislation. California’s economy, like the rest of the nation, has been booming ever since the recession, but California is ranking up where the state is not proud […]
Although the number of math and science teachers has increased in the state, there are fewer of them than in other core subjects. As a result, the average class size in math and science at all levels is larger in California than in other states. For instance, the average class size for high school science […]
While California’s economy rapidly adds higher-paying jobs, millions of Californians fail to qualify for these opportunities because they lack the required credential or degree. With lagging college completion rates, too few Californians can benefit from the state’s projected economic growth, and many employers look out of state and overseas for the right talent. A looming […]
California’s high school graduation rates have increased significantly in recent years, but the percentage of those students who complete their college education continues to lag, with long-term implications for the state’s future. That is the stark conclusion of a new report by California Competes, a policy and advocacy organization focusing on the state’s system of […]
But there’s a big problem with the U.S. construction industry — it costs way too much to build things. Productivity in construction has stagnated throughout much of the world. But in the U.S. it has done particularly poorly. In terms of value added per worker, construction-industry productivity has fallen by about a third since 1970. […]
As the Bay Area scrambles to find housing for its growing population, developers are running into another kind of shortage: There aren’t enough construction workers to build the homes the region needs. Builders throughout the area say they are struggling to recruit skilled laborers. Some bring in employees from Southern California or even Seattle, putting […]
U.S. factories expanded in February at the fastest rate since May 2004, indicating sustained strength in manufacturing as demand remains solid, figures from the Institute for Supply Management showed Thursday. The latest advance extends a series of healthy readings in the survey-based measure of manufacturing that’s being fueled by improving global economies and firm business […]
Californians eagerly await Congressional implementation of President Trump’s recently released infrastructure proposal, a $1.5 trillion plan to rebuild our country’s neglected bridges, dams, schools, highways, streets and public transit. Even with funding, a lack of skilled construction workers presents a serious barrier to success. California’s lack of investment in career and technical education programs has […]
According to a new economic forecast released Wednesday by the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation (LAEDC), the region’s GDP is growing faster than the nation’s as a whole. Unemployment is below five percent and still declining. And economists project that solid overall growth will continue over the next two years. But for many workers, […]
Theory suggests that large firms are more likely to engage in lobbying behaviour and are geographically more mobile than smaller entities. Conditional on jurisdiction size, policy choices are thus predicted to depend on the shape of a jurisdiction’s firm size distribution, with more business-oriented policies being enacted if jurisdictions host large firms. The paper empirically […]
Last year, we speculated that our region’s ability to sustain its post-recession growth may be eroding. This year’s update of selected indicators strengthen the case for concern. The region’s innovation industries experienced strong growth in 2016, but substantially lower than that of 2015. More people are now moving out than moving into our prosperous but […]
In 2017, California’s economy grew at an estimated rate of 2.5 percent, faster than the nation as a whole, which grew at 2.4 percent. While impressive, California’s economy continued to slow down from the 3.3 percent year-over year growth achieved in 2016, and from the over 4 percent year-over-year percentage growth seen in 2014 and […]