Clik here to view.
Priorities for California’s Economy
Letter from the Center Director In the last few years, Californians have weathered a lot. The tumult of the pandemic on businesses, the instability of rapidly rising prices, and the anxiety caused by...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Learning Recovery Is Uneven for Urban and Rural School Districts
Four years since the onset of the pandemic, progress in closing learning gaps for K–12 students is limited. Urban and rural districts have seen the slowest progress, with math and English proficiency...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Chronic Absenteeism in K–12 Schools Remains Troublingly High
Chronic absenteeism—the share of students missing at least 10% of school days—increased dramatically during the pandemic, in California and across most US states. More recently, in the 2022–23 school...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Testimony: California’s K–12 Digital Divide Has Narrowed, but Access Gaps...
PPIC senior fellow Niu Gao testified before the Assembly Education Committee on “Meeting the Post-Pandemic Academic, Well-Being, and Technology Needs of California Students” on February 21, 2024. Here...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Statewide Survey: Californians and Their Government
The latest survey tracks voter preferences and enthusiasm in the run-up to California’s March 5 primary. It gauges opinions about local, state, and national economic conditions and views of the state...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Video: California’s Economic Future
California is a powerhouse of innovation and wealth-building—but it also has the highest poverty rate in the nation. What policies can best support California’s economic leadership and ensure that more...
View ArticleClik here to view.
PPIC Statewide Survey: Californians and Their Government
Key Findings The 2024 election cycle was officially launched with the Iowa caucuses in January and the South Carolina primary in early February. President Joe Biden and former president Donald Trump...
View ArticleClik here to view.
California’s Renters
Renters make up a much larger share of households in California (44%) than in the rest of the US (35%)—or in any state other than New York (46%), according to the US Census. This pattern predates the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
California’s Economy—Past, Present, and Future
Examining the health of California’s economy has been a key component of PPIC’s work since we opened our doors in 1994. Since then, substantial changes—from new technologies to shifting...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Testimony: Most Californians Are “Pretty Happy” but a Growing Share Are “Not...
Mark Baldassare, statewide survey director and Miller Chair in Public Policy at PPIC, was invited to speak to the Select Committee on Happiness and Public Policy Outcomes on March 12, 2024. This post...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Learning Recovery for Homeless Students Lags behind Other High-Need Groups
California actively targets funding to high-need students —low income, English learners, and foster youth—through the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF). Homeless students qualify as low-income and...
View ArticleClik here to view.
An Update on Homelessness in California
Every January, the federal government conducts a “point-in-time” (PIT) count of the nation’s homeless population on a single night; this count is imperfect, but it is one of the few measures of...
View ArticleClik here to view.
California’s Digital Divide
Digital access is at an all-time high in California—and the digital divide has narrowed. A record-high 95% of Californians had access to internet—including satellite—at home in 2022, up from 92% in...
View ArticleClik here to view.
As Internet Usage Grows, Californians Are Concerned about Online Security
The onset of the pandemic made internet access increasingly central to daily life—in 2021, a record-high 85% of Californians were using the internet at home. Given the wide range of internet activity,...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Are Eligible Undocumented Immigrants Claiming the CalEITC and Young Child Tax...
Low-income Californians who file tax returns with Individual Taxpayer Identification Numbers (ITINs)—primarily undocumented immigrants—are eligible to claim the California Earned Income Tax Credit and...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Are California’s Foster Youth Claiming the State’s New Tax Credit?
Starting last year, California added the Foster Youth Tax Credit (FYTC) to its suite of credits for low-income individuals and families. Nearly 5,000 young adults with a current or recent connection to...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Income Inequality in California
The gap between high and low incomes is wider in California than in most other states. In 2022 (the most recent data available), families at the top of the income distribution—the 90th...
View ArticleClik here to view.
California’s Medi-Cal Expansion Is Lowering Poverty among Undocumented...
Safety net programs substantially lower poverty, but federal eligibility rules often exclude undocumented immigrants, who have the highest poverty rates in the state (27%). At the beginning of this...
View ArticleClik here to view.
California’s Nutrition Safety Net
More than 15 public programs aim to ensure that all Californians can access nutritious food. In early 2023, 4.2 million households participated in one or more of the three largest nutrition...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Testimony: Enhancing California’s Wage Data Can Help Improve Its Economic Future
Sarah Bohn, PPIC vice president and director of the PPIC Economic Policy Center, testified before the Senate Select Committee on Career Technology and the New Economy on April 29, 2024. Here are her...
View Article