Report Policies for Creating and Keeping Jobs in California By David Neumark, Emma Wohl Dec 13, 2023 State efforts to spur job creation include 21 programs ranging from tax credits to worker training. Three policies offer strong evidence indicating they create jobs or increase employment in California. New programs—and programs with weak evidence—need to have built-in features that allow deeper evaluation.
Report Increasing the Minimum Wage: California’s Winners and Losers By Thomas E. MaCurdy, Margaret O’Brien-Strain May 1, 2000 As a policy tool, minimum wage increases rely heavily on two assumptions: that such increases help the poor and impose little public or social cost. In Increasing the Minimum Wage: California’s Winners and Losers, Margaret O’Brien-Strain and Thomas MaCurdy test both assumptions by modeling the effects of the 1996 federal increase from $4.25 to $5.15 per hour. Noting that low-income families receive a relatively small portion of the additional earnings and that higher labor costs put upward pressure on the prices of products these families buy, the authors conclude that minimum wage increases do not help poor families as much as more targeted policy options.
Report Business Location Decisions and Employment Dynamics in California By David Neumark, Jed Kolko Nov 5, 2007 Much recent debate about the state’s economy has focused on the narrow issue of whether California businesses are moving to other states—taking jobs with them. In this report, PPIC researchers Jed Kolko and David Neumark examine the broader patterns of employment dynamics—the ways in which jobs and businesses move into, around, and out of the state— to provide a more accurate and comprehensive understanding of the California economy.
California Economic Policy, Report Recent Trends in Exports of California’s information Technology Products By Jon D. Haveman, Howard J. Shatz Apr 13, 2005 Documents changing patterns in California’s manufactured information technology exports during the recent boom and bust period (1997-2003). Finds that much of the decline in the total value of exports (which dropped by $25 billion or 42% between 2000 and 2003) stemmed from lower purchases of California commodities worldwide. Concludes that the vast majority of the drop-off in California’s share of U.S exports stems from redirection of purchases away from California to other states. Explores possible reasons why this has occurred.
Report Meeting California’s Need for College Graduates: A Regional Perspective By Hans Johnson, Kevin Cook, Marisol Cuellar Mejia Jun 27, 2017 Los Angeles County, the Inland Empire, and the San Joaquin Valley will play a critical role in whether California can keep up with the economy’s growing need for college graduates. Colleges and universities in these regions will need to work together to boost graduation rates, while enrolling more freshmen and transferring more students.
Occasional Paper, Report Are California’s Companies Shifting Their Employment to Other States? By David Neumark, Jed Kolko Feb 15, 2007 In this paper we examine the dynamics of businesses headquartered in California. In particular, we ask whether California companies are shifting their operations to other states—in terms of either the number of business establishments or the level of employment—through expansions and contractions of existing establishments, as well as births and deaths of establishments. These types of changes could be informative about the business climate in California—perhaps most importantly changes in births of new establishments, which may be most responsive to economic, regulatory, and other conditions that create variability in profitability across states.
California Economic Policy, Report A Decade of Living Wages: What Have We Learned? By David Neumark, Scott Adams Jul 1, 2005 Living wages seek to raise the income of low-wage workers by mandating higher wages. However, such wage increases may also have adverse employment effects, leading employers to reduce employment of less-skilled labor. This study notes that although living wages deliver some benefits to low-income families, additional policies are needed to help the most disadvantaged.
Report California’s Future Workforce: Will There Be Enough College Graduates? By Deborah Reed Dec 7, 2008 Over the past several decades, the demand in California for college-educated workers has grown. But the supply of college graduates has not kept pace with demand, and it appears that this “workforce skills gap” will not only continue but widen. This study examines the causes, magnitude, and likely consequences of the potential mismatch between the level of education the future population is likely to possess and the level of education demanded by the future economy. The author concludes that if current trends continue, California will experience a serious shortfall of college graduates by 2025, unable to meet its needs even through the migration of college graduates from other states.
Report Career Pathways and Economic Mobility at California’s Community Colleges By Sarah Bohn, Jacob Jackson, Shannon McConville Jun 26, 2019 Career education credentials from California’s community colleges can help students advance in the labor market. But some programs offer larger economic returns than others, and it can take a long time for students to see increased earnings. Improving student outcomes—while also responding to future workforce needs—is a challenging but critical task facing the state.
Statewide Survey PPIC Statewide Survey: Californians and Their Government By Mark Baldassare, Lunna Lopes, Dean Bonner, David Kordus Mar 23, 2016 Some findings of the current survey: Donald Trump leads with 38 percent support among likely voters in California’s Republican presidential primary; Hillary Clinton has the support of 48 percent of Democratic primary likely voters. Democrats Kamala Harris and Loretta Sanchez lead the top-two primary for the U.S. Senate, but almost a third of likely voters are undecided. Most Californians view increased spending on the maintenance of roads, highways, and bridges as very important to the state’s future. With much of the state receiving seasonal rainfall, fewer Californians see their regional water supply as a big problem. Crosstabs: All Adults [PDF] Likely Voters [PDF] Time Trends: All Adults [PDF] Likely Voters [PDF] The survey was supported with funding from The James Irvine Foundation and the PPIC Donor Circle.
