Recent Publications

Across the entire Bay Area region, the three-event series produced approximately $245.1 million of total economic output – which includes direct attendee and APE operational spending, as well as their multiplier effects – generated $110.4 million in wages and income, supported roughly 1,272 full-time-equivalent jobs, and produced $32.5 million in state, local, and federal tax receipts

The differentiating factor for San Francisco’s slow recovery is its tax structure. While San Francisco has always had high business tax rates compared to peer jurisdictions, the pandemic and subsequent contraction in tech jobs have caused many firms to take a much closer look at their cost structures and to reconsider their real estate footprints. This is especially true amongst large, multi-national firms that have many choices for where they invest in human capital. While San Francisco maintains advantages for its innovation ecosystem and world-class tech talent pool, it is not competitive when it comes to business taxes.

This conversation took place at a forum organized by the Bay Area Council Economic Institute in the Winter of 2025 on how the arts and technology meet in the San Francisco Bay Area, and how their interaction enables growth and creativity.

This report, published in March 2026 and conducted by the Bay Area Council Economic Institute in partnership with the San Francisco Foundation, examines the economic role of undocumented immigrants in the Bay Area and the potential impacts of increased immigration enforcement. We quantify undocumented workers’ contributions to key industries, tax revenues, and household incomes, while assessing how enforcement is already affecting business activity, labor supply, and regional stability.

ADUs are homes located on the same lot as an existing primary residence and may be either attached to or detached from the main structure. State law allows one ADU on almost every lot in California, and some cities, like the City of Sacramento, allow more than the state minimum. As California seeks solutions to its housing crisis, ADUs have emerged as one of the most effective strategies – particularly for adding housing in single-family neighborhoods.

This report presents estimates of the economic and fiscal impacts of two large-scale development proposals in Solano County: the Suisun Expansion Plan, which includes the Solano Foundry, and the Solano Shipyard. Together, these investments in the economies of Solano County and the State of California would be unprecedented in recent history and would support hundreds of thousands of new jobs across the state. Importantly, both proposals target job creation in manufacturing – a key sector for middle-wage jobs – which would directly address stagnation in this sector. California has not produced any net new jobs in manufacturing since 2010, even as other states have attracted significant amounts of manufacturing investment and employment. Critical to unlocking these new manufacturing jobs are the new homes that are part of the Suisun Expansion Plan, which will ease home price pressure for California families and provide new housing options to Solano County residents and workers.

One of the key developments impacting the world economy in recent years is the reconfiguration of global supply chains. This shift began as an outgrowth of geopolitical tensions between the United States and China but has expanded as the second Trump administration has increased tariffs on a broad range of U.S. trading partners. Pandemic restrictions, particularly in China, also induced many companies to diversify their sourcing.
Changing calculations of risk and competitiveness are influencing corporate decisions, as businesses are placing growing importance not only on cost but on rising trade barriers, security, and supply chain diversification. A key question as U.S. and other businesses make long-term trade and investment decisions is what these new patterns will look like.

The Sonoma County Economic Outlook Report, a collaboration between the Bay Area Economic Institute and the Sonoma County Economic Development Collaborative, provides a quarterly snapshot of how the county’s economy is performing, including key strengths and challenges. The report examines employment, income, migration, industry trends, and economic output to assess current and future economic conditions.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a defining technology of the 21st Century. Like the digital revolution on which it builds, AI will over time impact every industry, the competitiveness of both large and small companies, the provision of government services, and the personal lives of billions of people across the planet through health and other outcomes. How it is developed, deployed and governed is a matter of growing consequence for large and small businesses, private individuals, and their governments.

Gilead’s longstanding partnership with Foster City has been a key factor in its regional impact. Through an amended Master Plan Expansion agreement, the company is transforming its 73-acre campus with new office buildings, research laboratories, and modern amenities including a wellness center, cafeteria, meeting spaces, and landscaped outdoor areas. These investments have led to a growing workforce and construction investments at its headquarters, further strengthening the county’s innovation economy.

Valley Children’s Healthcare is an economic magnet in the Central Valley, as it attracts physicians, employees, and patients from across a very broad region and beyond. While the high-quality care that Valley Children’s provides to the community and its associated health benefits are generally the focus of impact studies, this analysis focuses on the economic impacts – the jobs and overall economic multipliers – that Valley Children’s produces in the Central Valley.

A day or longer without our nonprofits would be devastating. Nonprofits fill the gaps that governmental agencies cannot address. The agility of nonprofits to serve the greater good of the public is an essential and foundational path to a healthier community. Without these resources, without their expertise, we would be witness to a swift reduction in all areas of social justice, equality, economic mobility and see a massive reduction in our ability to enable those with less.