Our Mission

The Economic Roundtable is a non-profit, public benefit corporation organized to conduct economic, social and environmental research that contributes to the sustainability of individuals and communities.

The Economic Roundtable seeks to respect the needs and goals of all neighborhoods and communities of interest affected by its work.

Research findings are made readily available to public policy makers, affected communities, and the general public.

Recent Research

• Getting to Work: Unemployment and Economic Recovery in Los Angeles
  Over a fifth of Los Angeles County’s labor force is unemployed or under-employed. Under-employment in LA peaked at the end of 2010, but remains 43 percent higher than the U.S. rate. The most important tools of local government for rebuilding the economy are indirect but very powerful over the long term, if used well. This includes decisions over the use of land, the transportation infrastructure, and the education and training of residents. Underwritten by the Pat Brown Institute and the Economic Roundtable
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• Equity below the Wing
  Many runway jobs of baggage and cargo handlers and cabin cleaners at Los Angeles International Airport have been outsourced to labor contractors, resulting in reduced wages and benefits for workers. For a small, incremental cost passed along to passengers, meaningful improvement can be made in the standard of living and health benefits of LAX airside workers, which will spark significant sales and tax multiplier effects for the Los Angeles region. Underwritten by Good Jobs LA.
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• Rental Housing 2011: The State of Rental Housing in the City of Los Angeles
  The good news for renters is that the size of the rental inventory has increased, expanding housing choices and reducing rent increases. The bad news is that a majority of renters are rent burdened, paying over 30 percent of their income for rent, and a third are severely rent burdened, paying half or more of their income for rent. Underwritten by the Pat Brown Institute and the Economic Roundtable.
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• Water Use Efficiency and Jobs
  Public investments in water use efficiency projects stimulate economic activity that is twice as great as the initial investment. One person-year of employment is created for each $72,400 that is invested. Underwritten by the City of Los Angeles, PIPE, IAMPO and NITCC.
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• Crisis Indicator: Triage Tool for Identifying Homeless Adults in Crisis
  The triage tool, or crisis indicator, identifies homeless individuals in hospitals and jails who have continuing crises in their lives that create very high public costs. The triage tool for identifying high-need individuals is provided along with the report. Underwritten by the Corporation for Supportive Housing and the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation.
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• Dividends of a Hand Up: Public Benefits of Moving Indigent Adults with Disabilities onto SSI
  Examines potential county-level public savings from moving individuals with disabilities who are General Relief recipients, medically indigent hospital patients, and homeless hospital patients onto SSI and Medi-Cal.  Prepared under the auspices of the Health Consumer Alliance of California.
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• Where We Sleep: Costs when Homeless and Housed in Los Angeles
  The most expensive ten percent of homeless adults account for over half of all public costs and have cost reductions of 71 percent, when in supportive housing. Prepared for the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority.
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• Economic Study of the RSO and the Los Angeles Housing Market
  Severe overcrowding in Los Angeles rental housing fell 63 percent, but 58 percent of renters are rent-burdened, paying 30 percent or more of their income for rent. Prepared for the City of Los Angeles.
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All of our older reports, many previously unavailable for download, are now on-line. View our publications.