Kevin Klowden is the executive director of Milken Institute Finance. He specializes in the study of key factors that underlie the development of competitive regional economies (clusters of innovation, patterns of trade and investment, and concentration of skilled labor) and how these are influenced by public policy and, in turn, affect regional economies both globally and nationally.
Today, all 50 U.S. states have a video game industry presence, and 21 of those states offer financial incentives. California has a considerable lead, accounting for 27 percent of the nation’s interactive entertainment industry, but competition is becoming more fierce, and the gap between California and other states continues to narrow.
The concentration of video game companies in Los Angeles and San Francisco, over the traditional tech hub of San Jose, highlights the key role of entertainment and culture in the video game industry.
In addition to local pressure, California also faces significant competition from the international market. Canada is particularly challenging due to its proximity and cultural similarity to the U.S., and a combination of financial incentives and workforce development and education efforts.
This report explores several courses of action California can consider to future-proof the state’s video game industry, examining both the business climate as well as opportunities to train, attract, and retain talented individuals. We conclude with the following recommendations:
Adapt California’s existing sales and use tax exemptions to apply to video games, facilitating firm expansion;
Expand or revise the state R&D tax credit to better serve startups and small businesses;
Explore developing a production-based tax credit for video games if California’s share of the video game industry declines; and
Improve the development of in-state computer programmers and developers by strengthening relationships between the video game industry and two- and four-year colleges.
WASHINGTON—Obesity and excess weight is an expanding health problem for more than 60 percent of Americans, and a new study from the Milken Institute finds that it's a tremendous drain on the U.S. economy as well. The total cost to treat...
Washington (July 29, 2021) – Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), Chair of the Subcommittee on Clean Air, Climate, and Nuclear Safety on the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, today introduced the Local Infrastructure Funding...
Dan Carol is a senior director on the Milken Institute Finance team. He leads Institute programming to accelerate effective deployment and financing of community-scale and climate resilient infrastructure, scale up regional innovation, and scale-up public-private partnerships.
China has become an engine of the world economy, contributing 20 percent of global GDP growth in 2015. For most of the past two decades, China has run surpluses on both its current and financial accounts, resulting in a significant...
Older populations are growing rapidly in a number of Asian countries. As working people reach age milestones and exit the labor force, questions arise: How will the traditional retirement years be financed? What will the future hold for...
The 2008 global financial crisis left people with less money to feed their families and institutions with fewer resources to help. At the time of the lab, hunger impacted 1B people, 65% of whom were concentrated in seven countries. Despite...
The Best-Performing Cities (BPC) 2024 rankings evaluate the performance of 403 metropolitan areas across the US based on 13 indicators that cover labor market conditions, high-tech impact, and access to economic opportunities.
January 14, 2025 (Los Angeles, CA)—Raleigh, NC is the best-performing large metropolitan area, according to the 2025 Milken Institute Best-Performing Cities (BPC) report, taking the top spot in the rankings following two consecutive years...
Paul Guequierre is the director of strategic communications. In this role, he works to increase the profile of Milken Institute in the media, raise the visibility of issues important to the organization and its stakeholders, and expand the Institute's digital presence.
New report identifies ways NGOs can tap into private markets to support developing countries WASHINGTON, March 19, 2020 — Following extensive research covering more than 500 implementing organizations that focus on health and education, a...
In 2016, the Milken Institute launched New-to-Export 101, a program designed to increase the number of local manufacturers exporting their products abroad by simplifying the export experience and improving the delivery of export-enabling...
On August 2, 2017, the Milken Institute Center for Financial Markets (CFM) convened a roundtable to discuss how addressing global financial regulatory issues may foster greater G20 bank investments aligned to the U.N. Sustainable...
The Milken Institute’s 2021 Best-Performing Cities (BPC) index compares the recent performance of metro areas with a focus on job growth, wage growth, and high-tech GDP growth. Additional measures of broadband access and housing...
This publication documents the conclusions and recommended actions from the first North America Semiconductor Conference (NASC) in Washington, DC, on May 18–19, 2023. The conference—a key commitment from the January 2023 North American...