Written by: Dan Bammes
Utah voters rated crime as the #7 issue of concern in this year’s Utah Priorities Project. A research brief from Utah Foundation shows that rates for most crime have been going down both in Utah and across the nation. But there’s serious concern about the way police officers relate to the communities they serve – and about the large numbers of offenders incarcerated in both prisons and local jails. In this edition of Utah Thrives, … Continued
Written by: Mallory Bateman
This post continues our blog series on concerns that many Utah voters expressed in our survey that didn’t make the cut for our top ten list. In the mid-2000s, Utah cities began emerging as some of the fastest growing places in the country. This contributed to “dealing with growth in Utah” being ranked 8th in 2004. By 2008, it had dropped to the 10th spot, 2010 saw the topic fall out of the top 10 and by … Continued
Written by: Dan Bammes
Homelessness and poverty rank 9th on the 2016 Utah Priorities Project top ten list, based on a survey of voters conducted earlier this year. Utah Foundation’s research brief issued July 6th, 2016 shows, among other important facts, that domestic violence is an important contributor to homelessness, involved in 21% of the cases and nearly as significant a cause as substance abuse and mental illness. In this edition of Utah Thrives, Dan Bammes speaks with Shauna … Continued
Written by: Dan Bammes
The Utah Foundation Research Report Lessons from Our Neighbor: Learning from Colorado’s Educational Success pointed out much broader participation in full-day kindergarten in Colorado. In Utah, 13% of five-year olds attend full-day kindergarten. In Colorado, that number is 74%. Data from Colorado’s Department of Education show the boost kids get from participating in high-quality preschool and full-day kindergarten programs continues into high school. Here in Utah, there have been a number of steps toward implementing … Continued
Written by: Dan Bammes
In this post, we’ll look at four of 2015’s top ten research findings identified by the Utah Foundation Board of Trustees. Quality of Life Two items from the biennial Utah Foundation Quality of Life Index made the list: 7. The Utah Foundation Quality of Life index decreased primarily due to quality decreases in traffic conditions, safety and security from crime and having family nearby. 9. Non-Wasatch Front respondents and respondents with … Continued
Written by: Dan Bammes
The Utah Foundation Board of Trustees sets the research agenda at the beginning of each year, and responds with guidance and adjustments as the year goes along. At the end of the year, board members also look back at the Foundation’s work and evaluate the relative impact our research reports have had on the community and policy makers. We recently asked them to evaluate our efforts in 2015, with members voting on the significance of … Continued
Written by: Christopher Collard
Last October there was some buzz created by 24/7 Wall St ranking Utah as the number one worst state for women. The gender wage gap, or the difference in pay between an equally skilled, equally experienced man and woman was one factor used in the ranking. Estimating the pay gap is somewhat difficult. Numerous factors determine wages such as, skills, education, experience, and others. Using U.S. Census data we attempt to deconstruct the gender wage … Continued
Written by: Christopher Collard
Does Student Debt Slow Utah Millennials Down? The ballooning amount of student debt is startling. Across the country, it adds up to almost 1.3 trillion dollars in total. As a comparison, that is almost how much US currency is in circulation today. Moreover, the majority of that debt is carried by a demographic (22-26 year olds) that needs its borrowing power. A lot of research has shown that a high level of student debt slows … Continued
Written by: Christopher Collard
It is only this year that the national Millennial Generation overtook the Baby Boom Generation. Yet in Utah, the Millennial Generation was larger than the Baby Boom Generation more than 15 years ago. Why is Utah’s boomer population so small? Was Utah even part of the Baby Boom? Figure 1: Proportion of Utah and U.S. Generations, 2015 Generation Ages Utah National Post Millennial 0-14 23% 17% Millennial 15-34 31% 27% Gen-X 35-49 20% 19% Boomer … Continued
Written by: Dan Bammes
Utah Foundation President Steve Kroes appeared on a panel at the presentation of this year’s Economic Report to Governor with economist Carrie Mayne from the Utah Department of Workforce Services Each year, the Bureau of Economic and Business Research at the University of Utah publishes an Economic Report to the Governor. The 2015 report was presented on Friday, January 9th to a breakfast meeting of business, state and community leaders at the Marriott City Center … Continued