Blog Posts
Insight: Teachers Persevere Through the Pandemic: K–12 Teacher Retention in Utah
By: Andrea Thomas Brandley Note: The opinions expressed are those of the author alone and do not reflect an institutional position of the Gardner Institute. We hope the opinions shared contribute to the marketplace of ideas and help people as they formulate their own INFORMED DECISIONS™. […]
Insight: The Great Resignation: How Has It Impacted Utah’s Health Care Industry to Date?
By: Laura Summers and John Downen Note: The opinions expressed are those of the author alone and do not reflect an institutional position of the Gardner Institute. We hope the opinions shared contribute to the marketplace of ideas and help people as they formulate their own INFORMED DECISIONS™. Dec 13, 2021 – In February 2021, we produced a blog on The Impact of COVID-19 on Utah’s Health Care and Social Assistance Industry. Since then, we’ve learned more about the “Great Resignation” of 2021, or the trend of employees voluntarily leaving their jobs. Despite being known as a recession-resilient sector, there[...]
Insight: A Demographer’s Revisionist History: Intercensal Population Estimates for 2010-2019 Released
By: Emily Harris Dec 3, 2021 – In August 2021, the Census Bureau released the 2020 Census Redistricting data, providing county population totals (among other data points) for April 1, 2020. This data enabled us to revise the Utah Population Committee (UPC) 2010-2019 postcensal population estimates to create intercensal estimates. You can download the new set of intercensal estimates here. It is standard practice to revise postcensal estimates, benchmarked off the previous (2010) census, to terminate at the subsequent (2020) census counts. This process provides a continuous estimate series across Decennial time points. […]
Insight: 2020 1-Year ACS Experimental Data Released
By: Mallory Bateman Nov 30, 2021 New data, with caveats The Census Bureau today released the 2020 1-Year American Community Survey (ACS) Experimental Estimates in 54 summary tables for the nation and states and the accompanying Public Use Microdata Sample (PUMS). Due to data collection issues and nonresponse bias created during COVID-19, the quality of the data available did not meet the Census Bureau’s standards for a full release. Respondents in 2020 typically had higher educational attainment, higher incomes, and were more likely to own their own homes than the total population. The Census Bureau used administrative data to help[...]
Insight: Have We Reached an Electric Vehicle Tipping Point?
By: Thomas Holst Note: The opinions expressed are those of the author alone and do not reflect an institutional position of the Gardner Institute. We hope the opinions shared contribute to the marketplace of ideas and help people as they formulate their own INFORMED DECISIONS™. […]
Insight: Priorities for Investing COVID-19 Resources and Future Funding in K–12 Education in Utah
By: Edward B. Clark and Andrea Thomas Brandley Note: The opinions expressed are those of the authors alone and do not reflect an institutional position of the Gardner Institute. We hope the opinions shared contribute to the marketplace of ideas and help people as they formulate their own INFORMED DECISIONS™. […]
Insight: Shifting Balance Points – Mean Center of Population Release
By: Eric Albers and Mallory Bateman Nov 16, 2021 Mean Center of Population On Tuesday, the Census Bureau released the new mean center of population for the United States based on the 2020 Census. This measure represents the middle point of the country from a population-weighted perspective or the point at which an imaginary, weightless, rigid, and flat surface would balance if each person weighed the same. The mean center of population is different than the geographic center of the nation. Since the first decennial census in 1790, the mean center of population has shifted west and south. In 2020,[...]
Insight: Salt Lake County, Utah’s Premiere Economy
By: Max Backlund Note: The opinions expressed are those of the author alone and do not reflect an institutional position of the Gardner Institute. We hope the opinions shared contribute to the marketplace of ideas and help people as they formulate their own INFORMED DECISIONS™. […]
Insight: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly: Utah’s Housing Market
By: Dejan Eskic Note: The opinions expressed are those of the author alone and do not reflect an institutional position of the Gardner Institute. We hope the opinions shared contribute to the marketplace of ideas and help people as they formulate their own INFORMED DECISIONS™. […]
Insight: COVID-19 Death Rates and Demographic Factors
By: Mike Hollingshaus and Emily Harris Oct 12, 2021 – The Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute has released an updated report on Utah’s COVID-19 per-capita-death rates. Our analysis indicates that during the first year of the pandemic, Utah’s structural demographic factors (age, race/ethnic, and sex composition) account for half of Utah’s lower-than-average death rate (compared to the U.S.). The remaining difference is attributable to other factors such as disease epidemiology, institutional and personal behaviors, or social networks. […]