Public Policy
The Gardner Institute provides data-driven, context-specific insights about public policy in Utah. We prepare in-depth quantitative and qualitative studies on key Utah issues in partnership with private-sector stakeholders and state and local government. Our research provides vital information decision-makers and the public use to help Utah prosper.
The State of Utah’s Travel and Tourism Industry, February 2020 (Tri-Fold Brochure)
In 2019, travelers and tourists spent a record $10.06 billion in Utah. Nonresident visitors spent $8.62 billion of that (85.7%) with the largest shares spent on transportation, lodging, and dining. Additional nonresident visitor purchases included retail and groceries, as well as arts, entertainment, and recreation–related activities.
Utah Travel & Tourism County Profiles, 2019
Visitor spending generated $336.9 million in direct tax revenue, including $191.9 million in state and $145.0 million in local tax revenue. Visitor spending generated approximately $111.5 million in additional indirect and induced state and local tax revenue, for a total of $448.4 million.
Insight: Big Oil and the Future of Energy
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™. Jan 29, 2021 – The global pandemic has challenged all sectors of the economy. Pandemic-induced shocks to the energy sector buffeted U.S. oil & gas companies once considered the bedrock of the economy. […]
Insight: Housing in 2020: What a Long, Strange Trip it’s Been
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™. Jan 19, 2021 – A surge of buyers and historically low interest rates, combined with a record drop in housing inventory and a global pandemic ravaging its way through the economy, led Utah’s housing market to new heights in 2020. The year ended with a record number of new permitted units, passing the 30,000 milestone.[...]
2021 Utah Economic Report
Utah’s decade long expansion, the longest on record, ended in 2020 with the emergence of COVID-19. The public health crisis presented the greatest challenge to the Utah economy since the Great Recession.
2021 Economic Report to the Governor (Highlights)
Utah’s decade long expansion, the longest on record, ended in 2020 with the emergence of COVID-19. The public health crisis presented the greatest challenge to the Utah economy since the Great Recession. In the early spring, the forecast for 2020 was bleak as the unemployment rate in April climbed to roughly 10%. But as the year unfolded, the resiliency of the Utah economy was on full display. By November, Utah’s year-over employment was down only 0.2%, the smallest employment decline of any state, and the unemployment rate had dropped to 4.3%. Nationwide employment was down by 6.0%, and the unemployment[...]
Utah Informed: Visual Intellection for 2021
"You may not be interested in the virus, but the virus is interested in you.” This modified Leo Tolstoy quote summarizes much of 2020 and the start of 2021. COVID-19 came seemingly from out of nowhere and impacted every facet of our lives, livelihoods, and lifestyles.
2021 Economic Report to the Governor
The Utah Economic Report to the Governor serves as the preeminent source for data, research, and analysis about the Utah economy. This 2021 version marks 33 consecutive years of publication. The report provides timely and relevant data and analysis about economic indicators, as well as a focus on critical industries in the state of Utah. The improved economic understanding and literacy helps decision-makers make economically informed decisions and helps Utah to prosper.
The COVID-19 Economic Risk Index
Notwithstanding having one of the lowest unemployment rates in the country under COVID-19, unemployment in Utah since the beginning of the pandemic has been stark. In only six weeks, Utah’s unemployment rate jumped from a historic low of 2.5% to a historic high of 10.4%,1 with Utah residents filing over 130,000 unemployment insurance claims from mid-March through April.
COVID-19’s Impacts on Utah’s Oil & Gas Industry
At the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the oil and gas sector was caught unprepared for the global shock of diminished energy demand by shelter-in-place and stay-at-home policies. At the same time, two OPEC+ members battling for market share oversupplied global energy markets, creating an unanticipated energy supply shock and sending crude oil prices into a tailspin. These combined shocks threatened the viability of oil and gas companies lacking the robust balance sheets needed to remain solvent until normal market conditions return.