How We Lost the California Dream, and How to Get It Back
Event Details
February 12, 2026
Noon - 1:00 PM
Licata Lecture Hall
Drescher Graduate Campus Malibu, California
In-person tickets are now SOLD OUT. Click on the below link to register for an ONLINE ticket.
For more information about this event, please email sppevents@pepperdine.edu, or call 310.506.7490.
| The School of Public Policy is honored to host Lee E. Ohanian, professor of economics,
and director of the Ettinger Family Program in macroeconomic research at the University
of California, Los Angeles. Professor Ohanian, will be the first featured speaker
in the 2026 SPP Economic Seminar Series. Ohanian currently serves as the new Giles O'Malley Distinguished visiting professor
at the Pepperdine School of Public Policy. California was once very affordable, with seemingly endless job opportunities created by remarkable new businesses that would go on to become world leaders in their industries, and with schools that were the nation's best. Today, California is unaffordable for all but a few, businesses and people are moving, our school quality has plummeted, and our cities struggle with homelessness, drug abuse, and crime. This presentation will describe how a departure from sensible governance is the root cause of all of these problems, and how a restoration of good governance will get California back on track. Attendance is limited, please register today if interested. Lunch will be provided to all registered guests. |
Speaker: Lee Ohanian
Lee E. Ohanian is professor of economics, and director of the Ettinger Family Program
in macroeconomic research at UCLA, where he has taught since 1999. He is also a senior
fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University, and the associate director
of the Center for the Advanced Study in Economic Efficiency at Arizona State University.
He is an adviser to the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, and previously has advised
other Federal Reserve Banks, Foreign Central Banks, and the National Science Foundation.
He has been an economic adviser to state and national political campaigns and has
testified to the U.S. Senate and the California State Legislative Assembly. His research,
which recently has been discussed in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, and other media sources, focuses on economic crises, and as been published widely
in a number of peer-reviewed journals. He is a frequent columnist for the Wall Street Journal, San Francisco Chronicle, and other media. He received his Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Rochester.