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.
Defining Utah’s Middle Class
At the request of the President’s Office at the University of Utah and in support of the Alliance for the American Dream, the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute reviewed leading definitions of the middle class, with an emphasis on income-based measures. We estimated middle class income levels and populations for Utah and the U.S. for selected years since 1980. We expect these definitions and results will support efforts to create pathways to Utah’s middle class and improve stability for people already there.
Insight: Utah Foundation’s Health Cost Series examines cost drivers
By: Utah Foundation Staff Editor’s note: The Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute occasionally publishes blogs from partners in our community. This blog features research by the Utah Foundation. The opinions and research expressed are those of the author alone and do not reflect an institutional position or research by the Gardner Policy Institute. We hope the information shared contributes to Utahns’ understanding of health care costs and policy, and in turn help people formulate INFORMED DECISIONS™. In 2016, Utah Foundation’s Priorities Project found that the cost of health care was Utahns’ biggest concern. In response, Utah Foundation produced a three-part[...]
September 2018 Economic Summary
The Utah economy remains healthy. Every major industrial sector expanded in 2017, contributing a total of 43,500 new jobs over the year. An annual employment growth rate of 3.1% is on par with the state’s long-term average and is among the strongest in the nation. In 2017, Utah’s construction sector posted the highest job growth with 5.4%.
Insight: Is Utah Coal Going Global? Maybe.
By: Thomas Holst A District Court judge recently overturned an Oakland City Council coal ban aimed at preventing deliveries of Utah coal, primarily from Carbon and Emery counties, from entering Oakland and loading onto tankers destined for Asian markets. […]
Utah’s Strategic Clusters: Performance, Benefits, Workforce Needs, and Rural Utah
Utah’s six strategic clusters were designated in June 2005 and November 2006 and became the focus of economic development efforts. This report evaluates their performance before and since inception relative to the rest of the state’s economy and relative to their performance nationwide. It analyzes the clusters’ resilience during the Great Recession and its recovery, and assesses prospects for future growth. We also examine the economic benefits the clusters provide through their supply chain connections to the rest of the state’s economy. We analyze workforce needs by examining growth forecasts for the top occupations used by each cluster. We assess[...]
Ivory-Boyer Second Quarter 2018 Construction Report
The value of all permit authorized construction in Utah during the first half of 2018 was $4.3 billion. Residential construction has been the principle driver at $2.7 billion, a 15.9 percent increase from mid-year 2017. Similarly, the number of building permits for new residential permits is up 13.7 percent from 2017, with 12,772 permits issued statewide (Figure 1). Condominium, townhome, and duplex permits led the state in residential growth with a 25 percent increase in units from January through June 2018. Nonresidential construction experienced a 15.4 percent drop in value compared to mid-year 2017. Additions, alterations, and repairs experienced a[...]
Insight: The Utah Approach to Health Care Reform
By: Laura Summers Utah is known for its low per-capita health care costs and high rankings on healthy measures. It is home to some of the top health care systems in the country. But when you start talking about cutting-edge state health care reform, Utah’s name does not usually rise to the top. When you take a deeper look, you realize there is more going on here than what is being recognized at the national level. […]
August 2018 Economic Summary
The Utah economy remains healthy. Every major industrial sector expanded in 2017, contributing a total of 43,500 new jobs over the year. An annual employment growth rate of 3.1% is on par with the state’s long-term average and is among the strongest in the nation. In 2017, Utah’s construction sector posted the highest job growth with 5.4%.
Insight: Getting to Know Utah’s Life Sciences Industry
By: Levi Pace This year, I’ve been on a team at the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute researching the role of the life sciences industry in Utah’s economy. To get up to speed, I attended as many life sciences events as I could find. Turns out Utah has a buzzing life sciences community. At a networking event in March, I watched entrepreneurs pitch investors on diagnosing illnesses by taking a readout from a patient sample, like a cheek swab, and comparing it to proprietary databases. In February, walking around life sciences vendor tables at the Capitol, my co-author Josh Spolsdoff[...]