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| California Economy Project | |
|---|---|
| Name | California Economy Project |
| Formation | 2018 |
| Type | Research initiative |
| Headquarters | Sacramento, California |
| Region served | California |
| Leader title | Director |
| Leader name | Francesco Zammitt |
| Parent organization | Public Policy Institute of California |
California Economy Project is a multidisciplinary research initiative focused on the economic performance, structural change, and policy responses affecting California and its regional economies. The Project synthesizes quantitative analysis, policy evaluation, and stakeholder engagement to inform legislators, local officials, and private-sector actors about trends in employment, trade, innovation, and public finance. By convening researchers from universities, think tanks, and state agencies, the Project aims to provide timely, evidence-based assessments relevant to statewide debates on housing, transportation, climate, and workforce development.
The Project publishes reports, working papers, and data dashboards that examine interactions among Silicon Valley, Los Angeles County, San Francisco Bay Area, Central Valley, and San Diego County economies. Collaborators include University of California, Berkeley, Stanford University, University of California, Los Angeles, California State University, Sacramento, RAND Corporation, and the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco. Outputs are cited by the California State Legislature, Governor of California, California Department of Finance, California Legislative Analyst's Office, and municipal governments such as the City and County of San Francisco and City of Los Angeles. The Project also partners with philanthropic institutions like the James Irvine Foundation and the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation.
The Project was established in 2018 following funding pledges from foundations and seed support from academic sponsors concerned about structural changes spurred by the Great Recession (2007–2009), the COVID-19 pandemic, and rapid innovation cycles centered in Silicon Valley. Early contributors included researchers formerly affiliated with the Brookings Institution, the Economic Policy Institute, and the Institute for Research on Labor and Employment. Key milestones include a 2019 statewide labor-market atlas produced with the California Employment Development Department and a 2021 regional housing affordability study undertaken jointly with the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs and the California Housing Finance Agency.
Primary objectives are to: - Quantify regional variation in gross domestic product across Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley, Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, and other metropolitan statistical areas reported by the U.S. Census Bureau. - Evaluate fiscal impacts of statewide programs administered by the California State Controller's Office and the California Franchise Tax Board. - Analyze labor-market transitions among workers represented by United Farm Workers, Service Employees International Union, and high-tech firms such as Apple Inc., Google LLC, Meta Platforms, Inc.. Scope includes sectoral analyses covering agriculture in the Central Valley, entertainment industries in Hollywood, and venture-backed startups tracked by Crunchbase and the National Venture Capital Association.
The Project employs reproducible analytical pipelines using microdata from the American Community Survey, establishment-level records from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, and firm-level filings from the Securities and Exchange Commission. Econometric techniques include difference-in-differences estimators informed by policy variation across counties such as Alameda County, Orange County, and Santa Clara County, as well as spatial econometrics applied to commuting flows measured by the Longitudinal Employer-Household Dynamics program. The Project integrates geographic information system mapping consistent with standards from the U.S. Geological Survey and relies on administrative tax records accessible under data-sharing agreements with the California Franchise Tax Board and the Employment Development Department.
Major findings highlight divergent recoveries after the COVID-19 pandemic between technology-intensive metros and legacy manufacturing regions. Indicators tracked include regional unemployment rates from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, median household income from the U.S. Census Bureau, housing vacancy rates reported by the California Department of Housing and Community Development, and productivity metrics derived from the Bureau of Economic Analysis. The Project documented rising income inequality concentrated in San Francisco County and Santa Clara County alongside persistent poverty in parts of the Central Valley such as Fresno County and Kern County. It also quantified fiscal pressures on municipal budgets tied to wildfire suppression and climate-related risks assessed by the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.
Recommendations emphasize zoning reform models adopted from the California Housing Element Law, targeted workforce training programs aligned with Community College Districts and the California Community Colleges Chancellor's Office, and revenue reforms informed by analyses of the Proposition 13 framework. The Project's policy briefs informed revisions to state budget priorities in collaboration with the Office of Governor Gavin Newsom and influenced municipal housing strategies in Oakland and San Jose. Its workforce development proposals were piloted through partnerships with Workforce Investment Boards and regional transit agencies such as the Metropolitan Transportation Commission.
Critiques from segments of the academic community and advocacy groups such as Tenants Together and Labor Community Strategy Center note potential biases from foundation funding and the limits of administrative data in capturing informal labor markets prevalent among immigrants in Los Angeles County and the San Joaquin Valley. Methodological limitations include measurement error in big-tech firm employment counts for platforms like Uber Technologies, Inc. and sensitivity to counterfactual assumptions used in cost–benefit analyses of environmental regulations tied to the California Air Resources Board. The Project acknowledges these constraints and publishes replication code and caveats alongside major reports.
Category:Economy of California