Industry Studies
The Gardner Institute conducts economic impact studies to understand the effect of a firm, group of firms, or an entire industry on Utah’s economy. We estimate direct economic effects using employment, wages, and other data. We model indirect, induced, and dynamic economic impacts using statistical analysis and simulation software. The Gardner Institute also performs fiscal impact analyses to help policymakers and others understand the effect of a firm or an entire industry on state and local government finances.
Relational Health: The Connection Between Adult and Childhood Mental Health
Childhood mental health is influenced by several factors, including genetic predisposition, parental or caregiver mental health, and exposure to Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) such as violence in the home or community, emotional abuse or neglect, and economic hardship. Although the relationship between these factors is complex, Utah’s higher-than-average ACE scores and adult mental health needs indicate areas of potential influence to support childhood mental health in the state.
Insight: Concerns About Affordability Continue to Frame Utah’s Changing Health Care Coverage Landscape
By: Melanie Beagley Sep 27, 2023 – The last decade saw significant changes to the health care coverage landscape in Utah and across the U.S. The passing of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) ushered in efforts to expand health care coverage to population groups historically uninsured or underinsured, including households living near or below the federal poverty level and young adults. It also supported certain employers in providing health care coverage to their employees[i],[ii] and prohibited health plans from denying coverage based on preexisting conditions.[iii] […]
State of the State’s Housing Market, 2022-2024
The pandemic years created unmatched volatility in Utah’s housing market. The volatility in these past two years surpassed 50 years of housing history. Building permits for residential units increased by 26% in 2021, only to fall by 26% in 2022. These COVID-19 pandemic years now join the Great Recession as one of those unique moments in Utah's housing market. The Great Recession produced 16 consecutive quarters of declining housing prices, while the pandemic produced the shortest and steepest homebuilding expansion and contraction on record.
Medicaid: What is FMAP and Why Does It Matter?
The Federal Medical Assistance Percentage (FMAP) is the share of Medicaid costs funded by the federal government.
Insight: Uinta Waxy Crude Oil Flows Out of State, Spurring Possible Economic Growth in State
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™. […]
2030 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games in Utah: Demographic, Social, and Environmental Factors
Utah’s demographic, social, and environmental factors favorably position the state to host another successful Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games.
An Economic Summary of Salt Lake County’s Cultural Industry, 2023
In 2021, Salt Lake County’s cultural industry, including the design, education, entertainment, fashion, film, humanities, and traditional arts sectors, generated $6.2 billion in output (direct spending).
Utah’s Rental Market
Utah’s renters, like much of the renters across the country faced dramatic increases in housing costs throughout the pandemic. For the renters across the four Wasatch Front counties, average asking rents increased more in the two-year period between 2020 and 2022 then they increased between 2010 and 2020. At an annualized rate, between 2010 and 2020, asking rents increased 2.6% in Salt Lake County, between 2020 and 2022 the rate of change was 11.0%
Policy Brief: Utah’s Energy Industry
Heading into 2022, energy experts debated the speed and timing of a return to “normal” energy demand following a tumultuous 2020–2021 as the world responded to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Utah’s Life Sciences Workforce and Industry Growth: 2012 to 2021
industry was a source of economic stability from 2012 to 2021. Job growth remained strong compared with other industries and states. Increasingly, life sciences companies provide a large share of Utah’s employee workforce relative to other states with significant life sciences sectors.