Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Mountain Monitor-3rd Quarter 2011, Mark Muro, Kenan Fikri

Mountain Monitor Quarterly

Economic recovery in the Intermountain West’s major metropolitan areas edged forward in the third quarter of 2011, after idling for much of the year. Nationally, high technology and automotive-oriented metros showed the strongest signs of recovery; in the Intermountain West, manufacturing-intensive and technology-oriented metros had the strongest quarter. Employment and output grew in most metropolitan areas, and the unemployment rate fell throughout the region. At the same time, the housing market freefall came to an end—or at least paused—across most of the region, as home prices ticked upwards for the first time since the Monitor began tracking recession and recovery. …

Sustainability And Climate Models For The Intermountain West: An Annotated Bibliography, Marianne A. Buehler, William E. Brown Jr.

Brookings Mountain West Publications

This resource on climate models and sustainability in the Intermountain West, a region that includes the states of Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah, is a collaborative effort between the UNLV Libraries (http://library.unlv.edu/) and Brookings Mountain West (http://brookingsmtnwest.unlv.edu/).

The selected citations include academic, government, and non-profit information that highlight ongoing research on climate models and sustainability efforts in the region. The websites, government studies, independent reports, scholarly articles, and media reports reflect the diversity and complexity of climate change and sustainability issues in a region that contains widely varying ecosystems. The Intermountain West, with its deserts, basins, mountains, …

The Next Swing Region: Reapportionment And Redistricting In The Intermountain West, David F. Damore

Brookings Scholar Lecture Series

During the first decade of the 21st century no region in the nation experienced the political and demographic changes that occurred in the Intermountain West region, including the states of Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah. These states grew at unprecedented levels and are now demographically more diverse and increasingly urbanized. This presentation will explore the status of redistricting and reapportionment efforts, and the implications for state and national politics.

Mountain Monitor-2nd Quarter 2011, Mark Muro, Kenan Fikri

Mountain Monitor Quarterly

Data through the second quarter of 2011 raise new questions about the pace and certainty of recovery in the Intermountain West. Even places like Denver, Colorado Springs, and Ogden—which only suffered mild setbacks in the early quarters of the recession—have stagnated in the wake of the nation’s worst economic slump since the Great Depression. Output and employment increased hesitantly in eight of the 10 major metros of the Intermountain West in the second quarter while the housing market slumped to new lows everywhere.

Structurally Unbalanced: Cyclical And Structural Deficits In California And The Intermountain West, Matthew Murray, Susan Clark-Johnson, Mark Muro, Jennifer Vey, Brookings Mountain West, Morrison Institute For Public Policy

Brookings Mountain West Publications

Though the Great Recession may be officially over, economic recovery is slow and tentative, particularly in California and much of the Intermountain West. Among other challenges, the protracted downturn in these states has exposed and aggravated a huge public-sector fiscal crisis—with disconcerting implications for citizens and states’ long-term economic health. This brief takes a careful look at the fiscal situation in Arizona, California, Colorado, and Nevada, examining both their serious cyclical budget shortfalls—those resulting from the recession and its aftermath—as well as the critical longer-term structural imbalances between revenues and expenditures that have developed in Arizona, California, and, to a …