ABSTRACT
Over the past four decades, California has become a model for economic growth and, in many respects, the envy of other regions and countries. In California, the model of the post-industrial service society has not proved as broad or as durable as once seemed possible. California's aggregate growth conceals great turbulence within its economy. This chapter explores some of that complexity, first, by examining how the state's economy has arrived at its present condition, and second, by looking at some of the factors that may determine its performance in the future. The years of ascendancy in the national and world economy have also seen dramatic transformations of the economic structure of the state. In many respects, California appears to be moving toward economic, social and regional fragmentation as its economy grows in scale and in international linkages. Cities invested in massive water systems, as in the Bay Area and Los Angeles, and created an infrastructure for urban development.
