Kevin Klowden

Kevin Klowden is the executive director of the Milken Institute’s California Center and a managing economist at the Institute. 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. His key areas of focus include technology-based development, infrastructure, the global economy, media and entertainment.

Klowden was the lead author of “Strategies for Expanding California’s Exports,” which focused on the vital role trade and exports play in the state 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.

Additionally, he coordinated the Milken Institute’s two-year Los Angeles Economy 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 development and infrastructure. He holds graduate degrees from the University of Chicago and London School of Economics.