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 Salt Lake Apartment Market: An Analysis of Apartment Rental Rates in the Greater Salt Lake Region
Strong demand for apartment units in the Wasatch Front has led to a rapid increase in rental rates. Since the Great Recession, the increase in average rent has outpaced income growth and inflation. Pent up demand coupled with a robust population increase has fueled the growth of the regions’ rental market. Traditionally, Salt Lake City, West Valley City, Murray, and other northern cities of Salt Lake County have held a majority of the apartment inventory. However, cites in southern Salt Lake County and northern Utah County are experiencing significant expansion. Renters are showing a preference for proximity to employment centers,[...]
State Budget Stress Testing: How Utah Budget-makers are Shifting the Focus from a Balanced Budget to Fiscal Sustainability
State budget stress tests help policymakers to plan for and create appropriate, measured responses to economic volatility. Utah is the first state to implement comprehensive budget stress testing, evaluating the sufficiency of reserves and other budget contingencies to cover recession-spurred revenue shortfalls and countercyclical cost hikes.
State Budget Stress Testing User Guide
This user guide is a supplemental piece to the Gardner Institute’s report “State Budget Stress Testing: How Utah Budget makers are Shifting the Focus from a Balanced Budget to Fiscal Sustainability.” It is intended to assist other states in preparing their own budget stress tests.
Insight: Conquering Carbon Dioxide
By: Thomas Holst Reducing greenhouse gas emissions has become a hot-button topic. After the US Global Change Research Program stated last year that “human activities . . . are the dominant cause of the observed warming,”[i] reactions have been strong. Utah Sen. Mitt Romney stated, “we better hope it [warming] is man-made, because if it’s not we’re in trouble.” […]
Ivory-Boyer Construction Report, 1st Quarter 2019
The total statewide value of permit authorized construction during the first quarter of 2019 is $2.0 billion. This value is within a few million dollars of an all-time first quarter high in 2018 (inflation adjusted). Nonresidential construction value is particularly strong with a total of $641 million, up 35 percent over 2018. The number and value of residential permits issued, however, are down from the strong first quarter of 2018. Nevertheless, first quarter 2019 is still the second highest year in residential value since 2006 and the second highest in residential permits since 2007.
Insight: Utah’s Economic Commonwealth
By: Natalie Gochnour Originally published in Utah Business Prominent Utah historian, Thomas Alexander wrote the Beehive State’s official history titled Utah, the Right Place, as part of Utah’s centennial celebration in 1996. Mr. Alexander, who is now a professor emeritus at Brigham Young University, specializes in western US history and frequently writes about economic themes. He coined the term “economic commonwealth” in describing Utah’s diversifying and evolving economy since 1980 and I think Mr. Alexander got it right. While we typically think of a commonwealth as a US state (there are four of them) or the British Empire, the term dates back[...]
Insight: Getting to Know the New Ivory-Boyer Construction Database
By: DJ Benway On May 1st, the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute officially launched a modernized interface for the Ivory-Boyer Construction Database. For those unfamiliar with the Ivory-Boyer Construction Database, the Gardner Institute, in partnership with the Ivory-Boyer Real Estate Center, tracks building permit activity in Utah. The Gardner Institute collects and maintains monthly building permit data for 201 cities and 29 counties across the state. The database includes historical permit data back to 1994 and covers 27 data categories: nine for Dwelling Units, 16 for Non-Dwelling Unit Construction, and two for Additions, Alterations, & Repairs. […]
May 2019 Economic Summary
The Utah economy exceeded expectations in 2018, adding a total of 48,500 new jobs over the year. An annual employment growth rate of 3.3% is on par with the state’s long-term average and is among the strongest in the nation. A tightening labor market (3.1 percent unemployment) applied upward pressure on personal income. Annual income per capita increased to $45,174, a 3.9 percent increase from last year.
April 2019 Economic Summary
The Utah economy exceeded expectations in 2018, adding a total of 48,500 new jobs over the year. An annual employment growth rate of 3.3% is on par with the state’s long-term average and is among the strongest in the nation. A tightening labor market (3.1 percent unemployment) applied upward pressure on personal income. Annual income per capita increased to $45,174, a 3.9 percent increase from last year.