Claremont McKenna College

Inland Empire

The Rose Institute has long maintained a regional focus on Southern California’s Inland Empire (usually defined as Riverside and San Bernardino Counties). The region is home to more than 4.6 million residents, making it the nation’s 12th largest Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) by population. Although Claremont is located in neighboring Los Angeles County, it is often considered part of the western edge of the Inland Empire and is proximate to the region’s largest population centers.

Inland Empire Outlook

Since 2010, the Rose Institute has published the Inland Empire Outlook (IEO), a semi-annual publication that includes economic and policy analysis relevant to the Inland Empire region.

Fall 2025 Inland Empire Outlook

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Inland Empire Economic Partnership

For many years, the Rose Institute has collaborated with CMC’s Lowe Institute of Political Economy on Inland Empire research. Rose Director Ken Miller currently serves with Lowe Institute Associate Director Manfred Keil as a member of the Inland Empire Economic Partnership (IEEP) research team. Rose Institute students also co-author articles for the IEEP that are published by Southern California News Group.

IEEP Publications

IEO Past Issues

Note: Bolded articles were written by Rose Institute research assistants.  Earlier editions include articles courtesy of the Lowe Institute.

Spring 2025

  • IE Goes Red - by Quinten Carney '26
  • CalWORKS Implementation in the IE - by Deborah Aguirre '28
  • SoCal's Aviation Past - by Chad McElroy '26
  • SoCal in the Age of Commercial Space - by Chad McElroy '26

Fall 2024

  • Video Voter Guide 2024
  • Implementing Grants Pass v. Johnson - by Jemma Nazarali '25
  • CA Sales Tax Increases on the 2024 November Ballot - by Noah Swanson '25
  • San Bernardino County Fair Share  - by Rutvij Thakkar '26

Spring 2024

  • Freight Gateway - by Liann Bielicki '24
  • ONT-Cargo Hub - by Nikhil Agarwal '24
  • IE Warehouses - by Joan Hanson SC'26
  • Inland Empire Primary Races - by Quinten Carney '26
  • Proposition 1 - by Katherine Lanzalotto '25

Fall 2023

  • San Bernardino's Exit from Municipal Bankruptcy - by Sam Johnson-Saeger '26
  • Proliferation of Ghost Guns in California - by Chad McElroy '26
  • Ontario Airport Roars Back - by Nikhil Agarwal '24

Spring 2023

  • California's Push to Electric Vehicles - by Noah Swanson '25
  • Realignment, Recidivism, and Crime - by Jemma Nazarali '25
  • Opioid Harm Reduction - by Katherine Lanzalotto '25

Spring 2023 (Special Report: Housing)

  • Underproduction: California's Housing Crisis - by Ryan Lenney'25 and George Ashford '25
  • Inclusionary Housing Ordinances and Housing Production - by Ryan Lenney '25
  • Variable Attitudes on Housing Market Regulation - by Anna Short PO'24

Fall 2022

  • Video Voter Guide 2022
  • San Bernardino County Secession Measure - by Pieter van Wingerden '24
  • COVID-19, School Closure, and Learning Loss - by Daniela Corona '23
  • New Rules for Concealed Carry - by Desmond Mantle '23

Spring 2022

  • Covid Recovery Spending -  by George Ashford '25
  • Covid, Maternal Employment, and AB131 - by Nikhil Agarwal '24
  • Inclusionary Housing Ordinances and Housing Production - by Ryan Lenney '25
  • Variable Attitudes on Housing Market Regulation - by Thomas Short PO'24

Fall 2021

  • A First Look at IE Census Data - by Nandini Jayaram '22
  • CA Recall History - by Katherine Adelman '22
  • 2021 Recall Results - by Robin Peterson '22
  • An Excerpt from the Study (CMC-Rose Institute Poll 2022) - by Anna Green '21

Fall 2020

  • Video Voter 2020
  • Reapportionment in the Supreme Court - by Jacob Leischner '21
  • Population and Reapportionment - by Katherine Adelman '21
  • Counting the Inland Empire - by Nandeeni Patel '21
  • Counting the Homeless - by Zenaida Huerta '20 and Maria Gutierrez-Vera '22

Fall 2019

  • Narrowing the Health Gap - by Jacob Leischner '21
  • SB 535: Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund - by Anna Green '20
  • Impact of SB 54 on IE - by Nandini Jayaram '22

Spring 2019

  • IE Housing Market Snapshot - by Adhitya Venkatraman '22
  • Choking California's Housing Supply - by Joseph Noss '20
  • SB 827: Down but Maybe Not Out - by Nicholas Sage '20
  • Rent Control - by Melanie Wolfe '20

Fall 2018

  • Video Voter Series (2018)- by William Frankel '21
  • Time Served in State Prison for Serious Offenses: 1981 - 2009 - by Lane Corrigan '17 and Wesley Whitaker '18
  • Proposition 64 in SoCal - by Charlie Harris '19
  • IE Job Market Snapshot - Nandeeni Patel '21

Spring 2018

  • Amazon in the Inland Empire - by Charlie Harris '19
  • Vergara v. California: Educational Equality in California - by Naseem Nazari '21
  • Poverty and Special Education Placement - by Bruno Youn '19
  • California's $15 Minimum Wage - by Zach Wong '19

Fall 2017

  • Riverside County's New CEO Has Big Plans - by Melissa Muller '18
  • Things Are Looking Up in the Inland Empire - by Sophia Helland '20
  • Legal Challenges Facing Non-classroom-Based Charters in California - by Melanie Wolfe '20

Spring 2017

  • California's Many and Varied Attacks - by Lindsay Burton '19
  • A Coordinated Response: Law Enforcement Response to the San Bernardino Attack - by Nicholas Sage '20
  • Emergency Medical Response - by Joe Noss '20
  • Legislative Responses to Terrorism: California's History - by Charlie Harris '19

Fall 2016

  • Video Voter Series (2016) - by Timothy Plummer '17
  • Implementation of the Local Control Funding Formula in Riverside County - by Grace Lee '17
  • Near Full Employment in the Inland Empire: How Good Does It Feel? - by Sarah Baker '17 and Manfred Keil, PhD
  • Proposition 58 and Bilingual Education in Inland Empire Districts - by Brynn Miller '19
  • Robust Renewables: SB 350 and its Potential in the Inland Empire - by Zachary Wong '19

Spring 2016

  • Ontario Airport: 1923 - Today - by Manav Kohli '16 and Melissa Muller '18
  • A Conversation with the Ontario International Airport Authority (OIAA) Board - by Timothy Plummer '17
  • Challenges Remain for ONT - by Nina Kamath '16

Fall 2015

  • Ontario Airport Comes Home - by Manav Kohli '16
  • Inland Empire Housing Market Continues Recovery - by Marc Weidenmier, PhD
  • Good Jobs Numbers for the Inland Empire - by Manfred Keil, PhD
  • The Many Lives of March Air Reserve Base (ARB) - by Francesca Hidalgo '17

Spring 2015

  • Body Cameras May Be Good for Police and Public - by Wesley Edwards '18
  • Six Degrees of Separation - by Ji Young Huh '15 and Manfred W. Keil, PhD
  • The Human Capital Index for the Inland Empire - by Danmai Xiang '15 and Manfred W. Keil, PhD
  • Riverside Renaissance - Grace Lee '17

Fall 2014

  • San Bernardino: Two Years into Bankruptcy - by Ben Fusek '17
  • Ignition... Lift Off? - by Martin Sartorius '15 and Manfred Keil, PhD
  • Tough Start for IE's Newest Cities - by Tim Plummer '17
  • Continued Recovery or the Next Recession? - Patrick Shultz '15 and Manfred Keil, PhD

Spring 2014

  • Prison Realignment - by Manav Kohli '16
  • The IE Narrow the Recovery Gap
  • Life is a Crowded Highway - by Francesca Hidalgo '17
  • Water in the Inland Empire  - by Ryan Driscoll '16

Fall 2013

  • Pension Liabilities Loom Large - by Richard Mancuso '16
  • Raising Minimum Wage Means More Teens Out of Work - by Manfred Keil, PhD
  • Stuck in Second Gear - by Yelena Tuzova, PhD
  • Colton Crossing: A Model for Public-Private Partnerships - by Jessica Jin '16

Spring 2013

  • The Revobluetion: The Inland Empire's New Political Geography
  • The Inland Empire Real Estate Market Warms Up
  • Healthcare in Riverside County: A Procedures-Based Approach for the Future
  • Unwinding Redevelopment Agencies

Fall 2012

  • Municipal Bankruptcy
  • Sailing in the Fog: Read GDP at the MSA Level
  • Inland Empire Housing Market Shows Early Signs of Recovery
  • Changes in the Air at ONT
  • Councils of Government: SCAG and SANBAG

Spring 2012

  • The Inland Empire Strikes Back
  • Councils of Government: Effective in the IE
  • Will Professional Football Return to SoCal?
  • Coachella Valley: Municipal Revenue Uptick

Fall 2011

  • Unemployment: "It's the Education, Stupid."
  • 2010 Census Shows Large Increase for Inland Empire
  • New Maps, Big Changes for the Inland Empire
  • The Great Recession and the Not So Great Recovery
  • Contract Cities: An Alternative Model - by Nathan Falk

Spring 2011

  • ONT: An Airport in Crisis and at a Crossroads
  • A First Look at Inland Empire Census Data
  • Great Recession's Impact on I.E. Economic Performance
  • Renewable Energy's Future in the Inland Empire
  • Redevelopment Authorities Under Fire
  • Stagnation and Recovery: The I.E.'s Housing Market

Fall 2010

  • The Great Recession's Toll on Inland Empire Jobs
  • How Exports Can Help Revive the Inland Empire Economy
  • New Medical School Will Improve Health Care and Economy
  • Is I.E. District Poised to Elect Tea Party Candidate?

Spring 2010

  • Leading and Coincident Economic Indicators in the I.E.
  • Riverside: An Innovative 'Capital City'
  • Trends in Commercial Real Estate
  • Recent Trends in Logistics: No Signs of Green Shoots
  • Agua Caliente Seeks to Diversify
  • Inland Empire State Legislative Races in 2010

Winter 2010

  • Unemployment in the Great Depression Recession
  • Inland Empire's Macroeconomics
  • For the I.E., the Housing Crisis Continues
  • Inland Empire: Trade Gateway of Southern California
  • Ontario: The Inland Empire's New Urban Center
  • Increased I.E. Population Means More Reps
  • Congressional Races to Watch in 2010
  • Cost of the Undercount for the Inland Empire