Public-Private Partnerships

At a time when public finances are severely constrained but demand for improved infrastructure is growing, public-private partnerships (P3) offer an attractive alternative for financing and operating California infrastructure. While P3 methods won’t be appropriate for all projects, and clear rules and supervision are necessary, they have been extensively and successfully used by a variety of other jurisdictions in the U.S. and around the world. Several Economic Institute studies assess the potential for P3 projects in California and the conditions under which the state is likely to attract investors.

  • Framework Conditions for Foreign and Domestic Private Investment in California’s Infrastructure: Seizing the P3 Opportunity
    —July 2010 (PDF: 46 pages, 1 MB)*
  • Public-Private Partnerships: Alternative Procurement Methods for Campus Development in the University of California System
    —June 2010 (PDF: 25 pages, 1.3 MB)*
  • Investing in California’s Infrastructure:
    How to Ensure Value for Money and Protect California’s Competitive Position in the National and Global Economy
    —June 2006 (PDF: 76 pages, 997 KB)*

Airports

Airport Report Cover Image

The Bay Area’s international airport system—San Francisco International, San Jose International, and Oakland International—provides a critical link for the Bay Area to the national and global economy. Bay Area Economic Forum reports assess the economic contribution of the regional airport system to the Bay Area’s economy, and address related policy issues.

  • Economic Impacts of Competitive Air Service at San Francisco International Airport
    Growing air traffic at SFO is a positive sign for the recovery of the Bay Area economy.
    —November 2004 (PDF: 8 pages 448 KB)*
  • Air Transport and the Bay Area Economy—
    Crisis in Air Travel: Weathering the Downturn
    An examination of the decline in air transportation in 2001, particularly post September 11; its impact on airport operations, costs and services; and the economic effects of Bay Area communities heavily dependent on vacation and business travel.
    —January 2002 (PDF: 23 pages 249 KB)*
  • Air Transport and the Bay Area Economy—Phase Two
    An economic analysis of projected demand for air service in the Bay Area, the adequacy of regional airport infrastructure to meet future demand, and the implications for the Bay Area economy of growing airport congestion.
    —November 2000 (PDF: 52 pgs 653 KB)*
  • Air Transport and the Bay Area Economy—Phase One
    A baseline economic impact report on Bay Area international airports, their relation to jobs and global competitiveness, and recommendatioins for future analysis.
    —January 2000 (PDF: 57 pgs 596 KB)*
Hetch Hetchy Report Cover Image

Water

A functioning regional economy requires a secure water supply. Bay Area Economic Forum reports analyze the San Francisco Public Utility Commission’s Hetch Hetchy water system, water use by major sectors of the regional economy, and the regional economic implications of a potential system failure due to earthquake or another catastrophic event.

  • San Francisco Public Utilities Commission
    Measures to Reduce the Economic Impacts of a Drought-Induced Water Shortage in the SF Bay Area
    This report by the Bay Area Economic Forum and Public Financial Management, prepared for the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission, analyzes the potential economic costs of drought-induced water cutbacks in the Hetch Hetchy system and options for how to mitigate them.
    —May 2007 (PDF: 53 pages, 477 KB)*
  • Hetch Hetchy Water and the Bay Area Economy
    This report concludes that the Bay Area economy is at major risk, due to the deteriorating condition and vulnerability of the Hetch Hetchy system to a major seismic event.
    —October 2002 (PDF: 60 pages, 2.3 Mb)*

Transportation

Expanded water transit, using high-speed ferries, offers an important opportunity to increase regional mobility. The Bay Area Water Transit Initiative, managed by the Bay Area Council and the Bay Area Economic Forum, led to the creation of the Bay Area Water Transit Authority (www.watertransit.org), and an operational plan completed in December 2002 for the development of a comprehensive regional water transit system.

Energy

Energy Report Cover Image

A functioning, competitive economy also needs reliable, economic electric power. The California power crisis of 2000–2001 and the continuing lack of an integrated state energy policy pose fundamental challenges for the state and the region. A series of reports by the Bay Area Economic Forum addresses the causes, and present a suggested framework for reconstructing an integrated California energy policy.

  • Lightning Strikes Twice: California Faces the Real Risk of a Second Power Crisis

    Taking the Right Steps to Ensure a Powerful Future
    —August 2004 (PDF: 28 pages, 418 KB)*
  • California is Still Coming Up Short on Electricity: The State’s power sector remains troubled and is at risk of a future supply shortfall.
    Fourth in a series.
    —May 2003 (PDF: 32 pages, 305 KB)*
  • California’s Energy Future:
    A Framework for an Integrated Power Policy
    Third in a series.
    —November 2002 (PDF: 36 pages, 170 KB)*
  • California at a Crossroads:
    Options for the Long-Term Reform of the Power Sector
    Second in a series.
    —October 2001 (PDF: 60 pages, 329 KB)*
  • The Bay Area: A Knowledge Economy Needs Power
    A Report on California’s Energy Crisis and Its Impact on the Bay Area Economy
    First in a series.
    —April 2001 (PDF 74 pages, 450 KB)*

The state’s power crisis has also led to new interest by cities in establishing municipal utilities for electric power. Three Bay Area Economic Forum reports analyze the economics of establishing new city-owned electrical utilities and of implementing Community Choice Aggregation.

  • The Economics of Community Choice Aggregation: The Municipalization of Local Power Acquisition and Production
    —June 2007 (PDF 44 pages, 437 KB)*
  • The Economics of Electric System Municipalization: Infrastructure Aquisition and its Effect on Consumer Rates
    —October 2002 (PDF 27 pages, 428 KB)*
  • The Economics of Electric System Municipalization
    A report examining the issue of whether the conversion of investor owned electric utility systems to new municipal utilities will reliably reduce electricity cost and consumer financial risk.
    —October 2001 (PDF 40 pages, 194 KB)*

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