The Bay Area competes in the national and global economies and leads in knowledge-based industries. Its high productivity, global connections and strength in innovation afford a unique base for future growth. Issues such as housing supply, transportation, and cost-of-living, however, pose challenges that impact that potential, and require leadership and joint action by the public and private sectors.
- Innovation and Investment: Building Tomorrow’s Economy in the Bay Area
This report, the eighth in a series of biennial Bay Area Economic Profile reports produced by the Bay Area Council Economic Institute in partnership with McKinsey & Company, examines the evolution of the Bay Area’s economy in the wake of the Great Recession that severely impacted the region from 2008 to 2010 and continues to be felt by many of our citizens and businesses.
—March 2012 (PDF: 68 pages, 3.4 MB) - Benchmarking the Bay Area’s Environment for Entrepreneur-Led Start-Ups
This report was developed by the Bay Area Council Economic Institute based on a survey by Monitor Group, a leading global business consultancy, in order to assess the quality of the environment in the San Francisco Bay Area for entrepreneur-led start-ups.
—October 2011 (PDF: 62 pages, 7 MB) - Roadmap to a High-Value Health System: Addressing Califoria’s Healthcare Affordability Crisis
This “roadmap” outlines a series of concrete strategies for leveraging California’s power as an innovator to control rising healthcare costs for businesses and individuals. The report lays out the specific actions by healthcare providers, insurers, businesses, governments, and individuals that will improve affordability and access to high quality care in California.
—October 2011 (PDF: 44 pages, 1.2 MB) - Employment in the Bay Area’s Emerging Clean Economy
—July 2011 (PDF: 20 pages, 949 KB)
A brief by the Bay Area Council Economic Institute presenting Bay Area data from the Brookings Institution study entitled Sizing the Clean Economy - Global Competitiveness, China and California’s Emerging Clean Energy Economy
—December 2010 (PDF: 52 pages, 1.2 MB)
This white paper presents California’s climate and energy policies in a global setting, asking whether there is a clear linkage between policy and the development of energy efficiency and renewable energy industries. - The America’s Cup: Economic Impacts of a Match on San Francisco Bay
—July 2010 (PDF: 62 pages, 5.6 MB)
A collaboration between the Bay Area Council Economic Institute and Beacon Economics, this report endeavors to provide estimates of the economic benefits of bringing an America’s Cup match to the Bay Area. - Recession and Recovery: An Economic Reset
Bay Area Economic Profile
—April 2010 (PDF: 76 pages, 1.7 MB)
This report is the seventh in a series of biennial Bay Area economic profile reports that benchmark the region’s economic performance against other cities and regions, in the U.S. and globally, with which we compare and sometimes compete. This year’s document continues the practice of recent reports by analyzing the structural forces at work in the economy that will make it more or less competitive. As the Bay Area emerges from a damaging recession, our ability as a region and a state to understand and address these trends is urgent. - Managing Recession: Strategic Responses to the Economic Downturn
—July 2009: Full Report (PDF: 52 pages, 1.2 MB)
—April 23, 2009: Summary Presentation at the Bay Area Council Outlook Conference 2009 (PDF: 14 pages, 1 MB)
In response to one of the world’s most challenging economic cycles, the Economic Institute and Booz & Company have partnered to understand more deeply how Bay Area businesses are managing through the recession. Through interviews with leading Bay Area executives across a range of industries, including both large established companies and newer entrepreneurial start-ups, we identify how the recession has manifested itself regionally, emerging trends in defensive and offensive business strategies, and public policy priorities that could mitigate the recession’s impact and support future growth and competitiveness. - Sustaining the Bay Area’s Competitiveness in a Globalizing World
Bay Area Economic Profile
—April 2008 (PDF: 47 pages, 3.5 MB)
Every two years, with support from McKinsey & Company, the Economic Institute produces the Bay Area Economic Profile report. First published in 1996, the series profiles the performance of the regional economy against other major metropolitan economies in the United States, discusses trends and sources of structural change, and assesses strengths and weaknesses that impact regional economic performance. Sixth in the series, this Economic Profile report is a detailed and data-rich examination of the factors that drive the Bay Area’s highly productive economy and make it a global destination for talented people, productive businesses, and innovative research institutions. - Human Capital in the Bay Area: Why an Educated, Flexible Workforce Is Vital to Our Economic Future
—February 2008 (PDF: 68 pages, 730 KB)
Human capital, commonly understood as the collective level of education, skill and experience of the region’s labor force, is one of the most fundamental building blocks of high-value-added economies. This report analyzes indicators of human capital in the Bay Area, and identifies what is unique or distinctive about Bay Area workers. - The Innovation Economy: Protecting the Talent Edge
Bay Area Economic Profile
—February 2006 (PDF: 64 pages, 975 KB)
Fifth in the Economic Profile series, this report finds that the Bay Area has transformed itself, emerging from the recent high-tech boom and bust, but cautions that it urgently needs more pathbreaking solutions and investment in education, housing, and infrastructure to secure the foundation for future success. - Visas for Higher Education and Scientific Exchanges: Balancing Security and Economic Competitiveness
—April 2005 (PDF: 18 pages, 369 KB)
A discussion about the impact on economic competitiveness of visas and immigration policies implemented since 9/11, particularly as they impact graduate students and scientists coming to this country from overseas. - One Million Jobs at Risk: The Future of Manufacturing in California
—March 2005 (PDF: 30 pages, 352 KB)
California is the nation’s largest manufacturing state, but over one million production jobs are at risk of moving overseas or to other states if it fails to develop a strategy to keep them. This report calls for a joint effort, and specific actions, by businesses and government to preserve a competitive manufacturing base. - The Future of Bay Area Jobs: The Impact of Offshoring and Other Key Trends
—July 2004 (PDF: 44 pages, 601 KB)
Bay Area industries are both leading and responding to the national trend toward the offshoring of manufacturing and business services. A joint report by the Bay Area Economic Forum, Joint Venture: Silicon Valley Network, and the Stanford Project on Regions of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, with support from A.T. Kearney, assesses the impact of offshoring on the Bay Area’s job market, fields in which the region is competitively weak, and fields in which it enjoys a strong competitive advantage.