Educating California: Choices for the Future

Outlines the need to improve the K-12 and higher education systems to close the projected skills gap in the labor force. Recommends reducing high school dropout rates and increasing community college transfer rates and graduation rates at state colleges

Defunding Higher Education: What Are the Effects on College Enrollment?

Examines the effects of the state's higher education spending cuts on enrollment rates of eligible, highly prepared students at the University of California, California State University, and California Community Colleges systems. Outlines implications

Empowering the Active Jury: A Genuine Tort Reform

The rallying cry of tort reform is frequently associated with changes to the civil justice system that restrict the civil jury or avoid it altogether. Tort reformers have praised United States Supreme Court rulings that have led to greater judicial control over the evidence, especially scientific evidence, which juries hear. Other reformers advocate bifurcation of trials to avoid the possibility of jurors being so negatively influenced by testimony about damages that it affects their liability judgments. The tort system aims to compensate fairly and equitably those who are injured by others, and to do so in an efficient manner. Concerns about incompetence and bias on the part of juries have led to evidentiary and procedural rules that limit what juries can hear and do. But some of these rules have had a paradoxical effect, making it more difficult to cope with complex civil trials. This article argues in favor of a diametrically opposed type of tort reform, one that expands--rather than restricts--the scope of jury decision making. This article advocates the widespread implementation of active jury reforms. This article argues that such reforms will improve the quality of jury decision making in tort cases, which in turn should promote the ability of the tort jury to fulfill its multiple functions. Hence, the introduction of active jury techniques constitutes genuine tort reform

Higher Education in California: New Goals for the Master Plan

Calls for policies to raise college completion rates and the portions of high school graduates eligible for state schools and of transfer students receiving bachelor's degrees. Explores issues of equity, funding, college-readiness, and remedial programs

Empowering Rural People for Their Own Development

This Elmhirst lecture first discusses the features of the institutional environment which allow rural people in low income countries to design, plan and implement their own rural development. These are divided into two broad groups: the institutional environment for rural development (environment for the private sector, communities and civil society, local government, and sector institutions) and the many factors governing profitability of investment in agriculture. While in many poor countries the institutional environment has improved over the last 20 years, the most poorly performing countries still have by far the poorest environment for local government in the world. Within an empowering institutional environment, the rate of agricultural and rural development is determined by investments of many different types that in turn depend primarily on the profitability of agriculture. The paper discusses the large number of factors which determine profitability. Few of these are under the direct control of farmers or agricultural sector institutions, but depend on governance and investments in other sectors such as trade and transport. In many of the poorest countries there has been considerable improvement in macroeconomic management and sector policies over the past 20 years, but progress in international and intra-regional trade policies, in agricultural trade policies, in transport infrastructure, and in agricultural research and extension have been limited.Community/Rural/Urban Development,

Closing the Gap: Meeting California's Need for College Graduates

Estimates the state's shortage in highly educated workers in 2025 and outlines ways to raise college attendance rates, transfer rates from community colleges, and graduation rates from four-year institutions to help close the gap. Discusses policy issues