California’s economic landscape is a platform that fosters global engagement by bringing together leaders from around the world in both public and private sectors to forge partnerships, address global challenges, and innovate technology and culture. The Golden State’s global economy is ultimately the result of better-than-national-average job growth, innovation in technology that supports entrepreneurial clusters, and expanding opportunities for trade and foreign direct investment.

The policy platform of the Milken Institute’s 2017 California Summit attempted to coalesce and identify the crucial challenges and opportunities that lay ahead for the state in securing its leadership in economic and technological innovation. 

For the summit, five central pillars of programing and focus areas illustrate the interwoven and contributing factors of the larger California economy:

• Business Climate and Government Effectiveness
• Housing and Infrastructure
• Human Capital and Education
• Innovation and Technology
• Small Businesses and Capital Access