Blog Posts
Insight: Shape your Future. START HERE
By Mallory Bateman The Census Bureau took another step into 2020 Census season today with the release of the tagline “Shape your future. START HERE.” This provides us the perfect opportunity to consider what the Census is and why it is important. […]
Insight: Utah trivia buff? Here’s a book you’ll like
By: A. Scott Anderson Originally published in the Deseret News Did you know that Salt Lake City’s population has reached the lofty milestone of 200,000 residents? However, as a proportion of Salt Lake County, its population has never been smaller. What region of the world are most Utah immigrants coming from? If you guessed Latin America (like I did), you would be wrong. […]
Insight: Wasatch Front Air Quality – Getting Better or Worse?
By: Thomas Holst Skiing on weekends is a relaxing way to appreciate Utah’s snow and the challenging terrain of local resorts. Frequently, an added benefit is to escape an inversion layer in the valley. Inversions are facilitated by the unique topography along the Wasatch Front. A recent survey conducted for the Utah Clean Air Partnership (UCAIR) shows that Utahns are both informed about the causes of poor air quality and will assume responsibility for implementing solutions:[i] […]
Insight: Utah’s Governor Seeks Sales Tax Reform
By: Natalie Gochnour Originally published in Utah Business Utah Governor Gary Herbert can claim many accolades. He boasts a 70 percent approval rating, higher than any major officeholder in the state. He is only the third Utah governor to serve more than eight years in office, another testament to the regard people have for him. And, if current trends continue until June 2019, he will lead Utah during its longest economic expansion on record (121 consecutive months). […]
Insight: Utah’s coal transition belongs to all of us
By: Natalie Gochnour First published in the Deseret News Dinosaur bones, footprints, eggs and other fossils can be found throughout eastern Utah. It is a paleontologist wonderland because here, in Utah’s coal country, the last dinosaurs came to die. Today, another kind of extinction faces residents in Utah’s coal country. If the economies in Carbon and Emery counties don’t diversify, many family supporting jobs will become extinct. […]
Insight: Measuring Economic Diversity: The Hachman Index, 2017
By: DJ Benway This week the Gardner Policy Institute released the first annual research brief, Measuring Economic Diversity: The Hachman Index, 2017. The Hachman Index is a measure of the economic diversity of a region based on how closely the composition of industries matches that of a larger and well-diversified reference region. The index was developed by Frank Hachman, economist and Associate Director of the forerunner to the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute (the University of Utah’s Bureau of Economic and Business Research). The index has become nationally recognized as a measure of regional economic specialization or diversity. […]
Insight: Geothermal Energy: Hot Rocks
By: Thomas Holst The U.S. Department of Energy recently awarded a $140 million grant to the Energy and Geoscience Institute at the University of Utah for five years of R&D activity on two existing geothermal well sites near Milford in Beaver County. With this grant, Utah is poised to become the technology leader in geothermal energy derived from hot water and hot rock found a few miles beneath the Earth’s surface. […]
Insight: Utah Remains Third Fastest Growing State
By: Pam Perlich, Ph.D. Population estimates released today by the U.S. Census Bureau confirm that Utah and its neighboring states in the Intermountain West lead the nation in population growth. From July 1, 2017 to July 1, 2018, the most rapidly growing states are: Nevada: 2.08% Idaho: 2.05% Utah: 1.9% Arizona: 1.7% Florida: 1.5% […]
Insight: Greatest Snow on Earth? Utah Ski Industry Highlighted
By: Jennifer Leaver As Utah experienced heavy snowfall this past ski season, thousands of tourists and native Utahns pulled out their ski gear and made their way up to the several ski resorts to enjoy the fresh powder. The easy access to world renowned skiing has always been a point of pride for Utahns, even to the point of mentioning the quality snow on our license plates. This past December at the Gardner Policy Institute, Ski Utah CEO Nathan Rafferty joined Natalie Gochnour for a conversation about Utah’s $1.4 billion ski industry. […]
Insight: Utah’s Aging Population Presents Opportunities and Challenges
By: Mike Hollingshaus Utah’s population is getting older—the percentage of children is getting smaller, and the percentage of elderly Utahns is growing. When I tell people this, they often ask: “but doesn’t Utah have the youngest population in the country?” The answer is “yes, and it probably will for a long time.” Even so, the average age of the population is steadily rising. What do the data say about the future of Utah’s aging population? And what does this mean for housing policy and planning decisions? The answers to these questions help us prepare for the Utah of the future.[...]