Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Interstate 11: The Road To Prosperity In Nevada, Arthur C. Nelson

Policy Briefs and Reports

Interstate 11 (I-11) offers Nevada a unique opportunity to advance the economic development prospects of one of the state’s most economically challenged areas: Elko and eastern Nevada. Although the state used a qualitative system to choose a western route for I-11, this process may not have considered fully the costs of extending I-11 to Canada in a cost-effective manner or in a manner consistent with I-11 purposes, especially avoiding congested areas. This briefing report reviews the history and purposes of I-11; summarizes the I-11 route options; considers how I-11 might extend to Canada in a way that is consistent with …

The Implementation Of Tribal Provisions From The Vawa 2013 Reauthorization, Deejay E. Chino

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Recent changes in VAWA allows tribes – for the first time – to prosecute non-Indians for intimate partner violence. In order to do so, however, tribes have to first meet specific federal mandates. Implementation of federal regulatory policy by American Indian tribes is a dynamic and complex process but there is a dearth of information on the challenges tribes face or on factors that would facilitate successful implementation at the tribal level. This legislation has filled a serious gap in tribal jurisprudence but not all tribes are able to meet requirements, which include having specific legal codes and justice resources. …

Tech Innovation Capacity In Mountain West Metros, Ally M. Beckwith, William E. Brown Jr.

Economic Development & Workforce

This fact sheet highlights data on the tech innovation capacity in Mountain West metropolitan areas, as originally reported in 2019 by Robert D. Atkinson, Mark Muro, and Jacob Whiton from the Brookings Institution’s Metropolitan Policy Program. Tech innovation is defined as advanced industries that are America’s 50 high-R&D, high-STEM manufacturing, energy, and services industries ranging from aerospace and automobile manufacturing to solar electricity generation to internet publishing to bio-tech. Tech innovation is essential to the future of America’s economy. However, “superstar” metropolitan areas creating a regional imbalance within the innovation sector. The Brookings report examines metropolitan areas that are potential …

Housing Affordability Index: Mountain West Cities, November 2021, Olivia K. Cheche, Joshua Padilla, William E. Brown Jr.

Housing & Real Estate

This fact sheet highlights data on the median household income, median home price, estimated monthly mortgage and taxes, and share of income used for homeownership in fifteen Mountain West housing markets, as originally outlined in the “RealtyHop Housing Affordability Index: November 2021” report. The RealtyHop report analyzes the affordability of housing markets for the 100 most populous cities in the United States.

Population Growth In Mountain West Cities And Suburbs, 2010-2020, Dielle T. Telada, William E. Brown Jr.

Cities & Metros

COVID-19 altered population growth trends within large cities and the relative growth of cities and suburbs within the nation’s largest metropolitan areas. Brookings senior fellow William H. Frey suggests “that most big cities with populations exceeding 250,000 experienced lower population growth in the year the pandemic began than in the previous year.” This Fact Sheet examines annual growth rates within selected Mountain West metros and suburbs from 2010 and 2020.

Artificial Intelligence (Ai) Capacity In Mountain West Metros, Olivia K. Cheche, Ally M. Beckwith, William E. Brown Jr.

Economic Development & Workforce

This fact sheet highlights data on artificial intelligence (AI) growth in Mountain West metropolitan areas over the last several decades, as originally reported by Mark Muro and Sifan Liu from the Brookings Institution’s Metropolitan Policy Program. The Brookings report examines how various metros across the United States contribute towards AI technology creation and business activity.

Investment Patterns In Mountain West States, Counties, And Nevada Cities 2005-2019, Peter Grema, Zachary Walusek, Katie M. Gilbertson, William E. Brown Jr.

Economic Development & Workforce

The purpose of this fact sheet is to summarize findings on capital flows across Mountain West states and counties, and within Nevada cities. The “Gauging Investment Patterns across the US” report by the Urban Institute present findings of overall volume of capital deployed, racial equity of investments, and income equity for each respective geographic area. The full report further breaks down these three main categories into 18 other metrics.

Vaccine Hesitancy Within Nevada Counties, June 2021, Kelliann Beavers, Madison Frazee-Bench, William E. Brown Jr.

Health

This fact sheet highlights estimated rates of vaccine hesitancy, vaccination rates, the index of social vulnerability, and the level of concern for 17 Nevada counties as of June, 2021. The data are reported in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE) estimates.

Cdc Social Vulnerability Index (Svi): Nevada Counties, Vanessa Booth, Ally M. Beckwith, Kelliann Beavers, William E. Brown Jr.

Demography

This fact sheet highlights how Nevada counties rank on the Social Vulnerability Index (SVI) as defined by the Center for Disease Control (CDC) and the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ASTDR). Socially vulnerable populations are often disproportionately harmed during public health emergencies such as natural disasters and infectious disease outbreaks. The Geospatial Research, Analysis, and Services Program (GRASP) created the CDC/ATSDR Social Vulnerability Index (CDC/ATSDR SCI) to help public health officials and emergency response planners meet community health needs during response and recovery efforts (ATSDR, 2020).

Refugee Arrivals In The Mountain West, 2017-2021, Saha Salahi, William E. Brown Jr.

Demography

This fact sheet displays data on the influx of refugee arrivals by nation to five Mountain West States: Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah. Refugee Processing Center data, selected from annual reports and limited to the years 2017-2021, are presented.

Startup Businesses In The Mountain West, 2014-2018, Olivia K. Cheche, William E. Brown Jr.

Economic Development & Workforce

This fact sheet highlights data on startup businesses in Mountain West states and metropolitan areas, as originally reported by Roofstock’s “U.S. Cities With the Most Startup Businesses” report. Startup businesses are defined as new businesses launched by entrepreneurs that create jobs and spur efficiency and innovation. This report examines the startup formation rate, annual startup formations, annual new jobs created by startups, and jobs created by startups as a percentage of all new jobs within states and metros across the United States.

Covid-19 And Nevada Counties: Employment Data, May 2019 And May 2021, Joshua Padilla, Katie M. Gilbertson, William E. Brown Jr.

Economic Development & Workforce

This fact sheet displays county-level employment data and unemployment rates for 17 counties in Nevada, as reported by The Daily Yonder article “Rural Employment Grew in May, but Fewer People Are Seeking Jobs” in July 2021. Bill Bishop and Tim Marema compiled data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) for each county in the United States for May 2019 and May 2021.

Small Business Equity In Nevada, 2021, Ally M. Beckwith, Olivia K. Cheche, William E. Brown Jr.

Economic Development & Workforce

This fact sheet highlights data on minority and women-owned small businesses in Nevada in 2021, as originally reported by the Small Business Equity Tool. This tool examines the representation of Black, Asian, Latino, minority, and women-owned small businesses in the largest metropolitan areas and cities across the United States.

Homelessness Estimates In The Mountain West, 2020, Saha Salahi, Vanessa Booth, William E. Brown Jr.

Demography

This fact sheet summarizes a recent report titled, “The 2020 Annual Homelessness Assessment Report (AHAR) to Congress,” by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. By synthesizing homelessness vulnerability categories to the Mountain West states, this report offers data for Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah.

Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (Lvmpd) Budget Review, Fiscal Years 2018-2021, Olivia K. Cheche, Elia Del Carmen Solano-Patricio, Caitlin J. Saladino, William E. Brown Jr.

Criminal Justice

The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department’s (LVMPD) annual budget increased every fiscal year (FY) from 2018 to 2021. Using data provided by the LVMPD’s final budget reports for FY 2018 to 2021, this Fact Sheet details LVMPD funding increases and summarizes budget expenditures by unit and area command.

Operating Solar Projects In Nevada, 2021, Kristian Thymianos, Saha Salahi, William E. Brown Jr.

Environment

The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) and the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) both provide national databases that contain comprehensive lists of active solar projects in the United States. This fact sheet provides a list of operating solar projects in the State of Nevada.

Financial Stress In Mountain West Cities And Townships, 2020, Saha Salahi, Kristian Thymianos, Eshaan Vakil, Caitlin J. Saladino, William E. Brown Jr.

Economic Development & Workforce

This factsheet highlights financial stressors facing 16 cities in four Mountain West states: Arizona, Colorado Nevada, and New Mexico. The data included are reported in the 2020 “SmartAsset Study” by Ben Geier.

Covid-19: Creative Class Job Loss In The Mountain West, Katie M. Gilbertson, Kelliann Beavers, Peter Grema, Caitlin J. Saladino, William E. Brown Jr.

Economic Development & Workforce

This fact sheet summarizes Mountain West data on creative economy job losses in Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah, as reported in a recent Brookings report “Lost Art: Measuring COVID-19’s Devastating Impact on America’s Creative Economy.” Richard Florida and Michael Seman discuss the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on job losses in “creative industries, which are comprised of firms and establishments that produce goods and services relating to music, film, design, advertising, fashion, art, and more.”

How Did Homelessness Change During The Great Recession And Recovery?, Jenny Schuetz, Matthew Ring

Policy Briefs and Reports

Job losses from the COVID-19 pandemic have exacerbated housing insecurity among low-income renters over the past year. Federal, state, and local policymakers have created temporary measures to help reduce displacement among people who have lost their jobs, but there is considerable uncertainty about what will happen when these temporary measures end. To gain insight into how homelessness changes over macroeconomic cycles, we examine changes in homelessness rates from 2007 to 2020. Our analysis focuses on four metro areas that were particularly hard-hit by the foreclosure crisis: Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Phoenix, and Riverside. Overall homelessness rates declined in all metros …

Student And Teacher Diversity In The Mountain West, Marie A. Falcone, Guadalupe De La Rosa, Caitlin J. Saladino, William E. Brown Jr.

K-12 Education

This fact sheet highlights public K-12 teacher and student diversity in the Mountain West states of Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah. We explore data from Michael Hansen and Diana Quintero’s “Mountain West states face growing teacher diversity gaps” a 2018 Brookings Institution report. Specifically, we explore the teacher and student population in Mountain West states by race, revealing a disproportionate gap between students of color and teachers of color.

Covid-19: Projected Employment Change In The Mountain West, 2019 - 2029, Peter Grema, Madison Frazee-Bench, Caitlin J. Saladino, William E. Brown Jr.

Economic Development & Workforce

This fact sheet summarizes a report by Mark Muro and Yang You of the Metropolitan Policy Program at the Brookings Institution titled, “In some cities, the pandemic’s economic pain may continue for a decade.” Using February 2021 Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) economic baseline data, the original report projects employment change for states and metros from prior to the COVID-19 pandemic to 2029. This fact sheet summarizes the findings for Mountain West states (Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah) and the major metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) in each state.

College-Educated Young Adults In The Mountain West, Eshaan Vakil, Olivia K. Cheche, Caitlin J. Saladino, William E. Brown Jr.

Higher Education

This fact sheet examines data originally published in “The Young and Restless and the Nation’s Cities,” a report prepared by Joe Cortright for the City Observatory. The original report explores the percentage of college-educated young adults (or individuals aged 25 to 34 with a bachelor’s degree), as well as the percentage these individuals made up of the total population in each metro area between 2000 and 2012. This fact sheet explores data for the following Mountain West places, as reported by the original source:

• Denver CSA (Combined Statistical Area)
• Phoenix-Mesa-Glendale, AZ Metro Area
• Las Vegas-Paradise, NV Metro Area
• Salt …

“You Never Know” Work And Precarity In Las Vegas Before And During Covid-19, Richard Reeves, Morgan Welch, Hannah Van Drie

Policy Briefs and Reports

In this brief we examine work and work-based policies in Las Vegas, Nevada – a theme that emerged strongly from focus group data collected in the fall of 2019. The middle-class Americans we talked with were concerned about upward mobility, the changing landscape of work as a result of automation and skills training, scheduling uncertainty, and employee benefits like time off and paid leave. The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted and exacerbated these pre-existing issues for many workers. Much of the policy agenda in the last year has been understandably reactionary, as policymakers addressed immediate issues such as unemployment insurance, keeping workers …

Metro Monitor 2021: Las Vegas And Reno, Eshaan Vakil, Katie M. Gilbertson, Emmanuel A. Berrelleza, Caitlin J. Saladino, William E. Brown Jr.

Economic Development & Workforce

This fact sheet measures changes in Nevada’s economic growth performance indicators using data provided by the Brookings Institution’s Metro Monitor analysis. Researchers at Brookings’ Metropolitan Policy Program measure various indicators of economic well-being across 192 metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) for a 10-year period (from 2009-2019) to provide a thorough time series analysis of isolated variables. This fact sheet presents data for the Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise, NV MSA and the Reno, NV MSA.

2020 Most Dynamic Micropolitans In The Mountain West, Kelliann Beavers, Katie M. Gilbertson, Caitlin J. Saladino, William E. Brown Jr.

Cities & Metros

This fact sheet draws from the “Most Dynamic Micropolitans 2020” report released by Heartland Forward, “an institute for economic renewal […] with a mission to improve economic performance in the center of the United States.” In this report, Heartland Forward offers the Most Dynamic Micropolitan Index to analyze the economies of smaller communities for a total of 515 micropolitan areas nationally. This fact sheet includes information on job growth, annual pay growth, and personal income growth for micropolitan areas in the Mountain West region.

Improving K-12 Education For Hispanic Students In Las Vegas And Beyond, Richard Reeves, Ember Smith

Policy Briefs and Reports

Public K-12 education serves as a launching pad for economic mobility and opportunity, preparing students for college or a good-paying job. Despite K-12 education’s influence on later-in-life outcomes, schools often underserve students of color. Hispanic students in particular constitute a significant and growing portion of the U.S. student population yet are often overlooked in education literature because they are not the lowest performing demographic. In this brief, we examine how well public K-12 education serves Hispanic students in Clark County, where nearly half of students are Hispanic. We then consider factors that may influence student performance, including both in-school factors …

The Child Population In The Mountain West, Marie A. Falcone, Eshaan Vakil, Caitlin J. Saladino, William E. Brown Jr.

Demography

This fact sheet focuses on the demographics of the child population (under 18 years old) in the five Mountain West states of Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah from 2010 to 2019. Most Mountain West states demonstrate a substantial decline in their child populations during this time period; causing considerable impacts on the future workforce. The child populations in these states are dominated by children of color, most of whom are living in high levels of poverty.

Housing Confidence In The Mountain West, Emmanuel A. Berrelleza, Caitlin J. Saladino, William E. Brown Jr.

Housing & Real Estate

This fact sheet explores housing metrics in the Las Vegas, Denver, and Phoenix metropolitan areas, as originally reported in the Pulsenomics report, “Renter Confidence Dashboard." Market conditions, expectations, and homeownership aspirations are some of the key factors in assessing the livelihood of housing and real estate in metropolitan areas. These factors are presented with a comparison between all generations and millennials.

K-12 Discipline Disparities In The Six Largest U.S. School Districts, Marie A. Falcone, Saha Salahi, Olivia K. Cheche, Peter Grema, Caitlin J. Saladino, William E. Brown Jr.

K-12 Education

This fact sheet highlights K-12 school discipline disparities by race in the six largest school districts in the United States. The districts include New York City Public Schools, NY; Los Angeles Unified, CA; Chicago Public Schools, IL; (Miami) Dade County, FL; Clark County School District (CCSD), NV; and Broward County, FL. Data are compiled from the Civil Rights Data Collection for the 2015-2016 academic year. Specifically, we examine the data for the discipline strategies of in-school suspensions, out-of-school suspensions, and expulsions.

Domestic Workers In The Mountain West, Olivia K. Cheche, Saha Salahi, Katie M. Gilbertson, Caitlin J. Saladino, William E. Brown Jr., Eshaan Vakil

Economic Development & Workforce

This fact sheet explores the number of domestic workers employed in the Mountain West (Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah), as originally reported in the Economic Policy Institute’s “Domestic Workers Chartbook.” Data for domestic worker median wages compared to the median wages of nondomestic workers are also included.