Kevin Klowden is a managing economist at the Milken Institute, where he serves as director of the California Center. He specializes in the study of demographic and spatial factors (the distribution of resources, business locations and movement of labor) and how these are influenced by public policy and in turn affect regional economies.

 

Klowden was the lead author of "Strategies for Expanding California's Exports," which focused on the vital role trade and exports play in the economy and its underperformance relative to the country over the past decade. He has also written on the role of transportation infrastructure in economic growth and job creation in reports such as "California's Highway Infrastructure: Traffic's Looming Cost" and "Jobs for America: Investments and Policies for Economic Growth and Competitiveness," as well as in publications including The Wall Street Journal.

 

He has addressed the role of technology-based development in publications such as the "2012 State Technology and Science Index.," "North America's High-Tech Economy" and lcoation-specific studies on Arkansas and Arizona. In addition, Klwoden was the lead author of "Fighting Production Flight: Improving California's Filmed Entertainment Tax Credit Program," "Film Flight: Lost Production and Its Economic Impact in California," and "The Writers' Strike of 2007-2008: The Economic Impact of Digital Distribution," each of which analyze the changing dynamics of the entertainment industry.

 

Additionally, he coordinated the Milken Institute's two-year Los Angeles Economic Project, seeking public-policy and private-sector solutions to challenges the region faces amid a growing unskilled labor pool. Klowden is a frequent speaker on state fiscal issues and has served on multiple advisory boards on business growth, economic devleopment and infracture. He holds graduate degrees from the University of Chicago and London School of Economics.