Published April 27, 2018

 

Institute News

There’s Gold in Them Thar Demographics

In a recent report, the Institute called on business leaders to seize the openings offered by an aging population. “Silver to Gold: The Business of Aging,” which includes a mass of data on the economics of aging, identifies opportunities, innovations and policies to realize the upside of the graying of the boomer generation. The report, which can be downloaded from the Milken Institute website, includes commentary from participants at last year’s Summit on the Business and the Future of Aging, which convened thought leaders from academia, media, business, health and the nonprofit sector. “Older adults,” explains Paul Irving, chair of the Institute’s Center for the Future of Aging, “represent a massive and growing human capital resource and an attractive market for innovative products and services.”

Welcome, Tanisha Carino

FasterCures, the DC based Milken Institute center devoted to saving lives and improving the medical research system, has its focus on one ambitious goal: saving lives by streamlining and improving the medical research system. Now it has a new leader: Tanisha Carino. With more than two decades of experience in academia, government and the private sector, as well as a PhD in health policy from Johns Hopkins, Carino has been at the forefront of collaborative efforts to support the fight against disease and to ease the trauma for patients. She most recently was vice president of GlaxoSmith-Kline in charge of U.S. public policy, and previously founded the Center on Evidence Based Medicine at Avalere Heath. “FasterCures has been a leader in this vision of saving lives by saving time,” says Carino. “I am honored to join this devoted team.”

Video Games, Alive and Well at Home in California

California, the locus of so much tech innovation, played a big part in the coming-of-age of the global video game industry. Home to 900-plus video game companies which employ some 33,000 people, the industry is a vital part of the Golden State’s $32 billon software publishing sector.

A recent study from the Institute, “Future-Proofing the Video Game Industry in California,” charts the challenges the state faces in light of looming competition. “Cities, states and whole countries are offering financial incentives to attract and retain strong talent pipelines in video game creation,” says Kevin Klowden, executive director of the Institute’s Center for Regional Economics and a co-author of the report. Bolstered by case studies from Texas, Georgia, Washington and New York, the study includes concrete strategies to keep California’s edge.