Morrison Institute for Public Policy Publications Archives

This year, Arizona Directions assesses the health of both ends of the P-20 spectrum: early childcare and education and the high school /postsecondary-to-industry nexus. Both are viewed through the lens of Arizona’s current competitive position and its trajectory through the broader economic landscape. How well does Arizona regulate, promote and ensure equitable access to quality early childcare and to programs that help children enter Kindergarten ready to learn? Does Arizona’s production of graduates and skilled workers align with current and projected industry needs? In other words, are we setting our children up to succeed in the new global economy? At the same time, are we creating a talent pool that will help Arizona stand out as the place to start and grow a business? Arizona Directions’ data-driven approach enables Arizonans to step back and examine the evidence without the distraction of clashing political rhetoric. The report is designed to create a common reference point for civil discourse and post-partisan, collaborative approaches to improving Arizona’s competitiveness. Still, the data are merely the kindling. Many minds are needed to stoke the fire and convert its energy into real-world results.

Politics, elections and governance in the United States are largely viewed through the lens of a two-party power structure of Republicans and Democrats. However, a distinct but ill-defined group of voters is quietly becoming a force that no longer can be ignored. Independent voters are increasingly determining winners and losers in election contests throughout the country and the number of Americans who call themselves independents is on the rise. However surprisingly little is known about the America’s independent voters. Morrison Institute for Public Policy at Arizona State University and the Schwarzenegger Institute for State and Global Policy have teamed up with one another and Independentvoting.org to examine the independent voter phenomenon and the impact that it is having on the American political landscape. Their findings have been outlined in the briefing paper Gamechangers?: Independent Voters May Rewrite the Political Playbook.

The Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) helps over 80,000 AmeriCorps members find a service placement annually. CNCS also conducts research on the outcomes of its programming at universities across the country and has partnered with Morrison Institute for Public Policy for a second time to better understand the employability and employment outcomes of AmeriCorps members. This year's study expands upon Morrison Institute’s 2016 analysis of Arizona's AmeriCorps programs to five states across the country. The findings from this study suggest that strong personal and professional networks emerge within the AmeriCorps program, which leads to positive employment outcomes.

Many Arizona street-level police officers and sheriff’s deputies report that they are skeptical of the ability of Arizona’s “pro-arrest” policy to reduce domestic violence, frustrated by a perceived lack of follow-up from prosecutors, and often at odds with victims whose predicaments they may not fully understand.

Domestic violence is a major social problem throughout Arizona, and a major daily challenge for law enforcement officers. Every day in Arizona, domestic violence injures victims, damages property, destroys families, breeds further crime and anti-social behavior, and perpetuates itself in younger generations. Like most states, Arizona has "criminalized" domestic violence (DV) by adopting laws and policies that bolster law enforcement officers’ arrest powers and require them to arrest suspects under certain circumstances.

Artist Wayne Rainey’s Shade magazine is a good sign for the Maricopa region. The bi-monthly publication covers contemporary art and culture, supports downtown redevelopment efforts, and works with many institutions to encourage the arts. However, as promising as Shade and other inventive ventures are, the fact remains that the Maricopa metropolitan region is just waking up to the need to recognize and support arts and culture as a critical contributor to a knowledge economy.

At one time, arts and culture have intrinsic value, economic value, and value as tools to further an all-important “sense of place” as well as to aid in such areas as workforce development, education, and community revitalization. As a result, arts and culture both enrich residents’ lives and give places meaning, identity, and economic opportunity.

This report provides statistics and information that give a sense of local arts and culture resources and challenges in the areas of 1) performing, literary, and visual arts; 2) history and preservation; 3) science and nature; 4) landmarks and events.

The reality of an aging nation has been discussed so much that the statistics no longer shock us. The figures, though, can still prompt us to marvel at the tremendous effect that more people living longer is having on our communities. Our goal now for metropolitan Phoenix is to implement the ideas behind Life Options in real time with real people. Demonstration sites are the next logical step, and pilot planning builds on the significant accomplishments of the Maricopa County Commission on Productive Aging. Between September 2002 and January 2003, this group of 71 community leaders studied how aging and retirement are changing and how new ideas about service, community spaces, and choices might be put into practice. The Commission’s energy and insights began an exciting process of change in metropolitan Phoenix and set the stage for this Life Options Initiative.

Arizona is one of the nation’s most urban states, and now it includes one of 20 “megapolitan” areas in the U.S. People have predicted for 50 years that Phoenix and Tucson would grow together into a giant desert conglomerate. That possibility has been seen as exciting, intriguing, and distressing. While a solid city along Interstate 10 is unlikely given the diverse land ownership in central and southern Arizona, the two metro economies are already merging.

Megapolitan: Arizona’s Sun Corridor, one of the first reports on a single megapolitan area, recognizes a more sophisticated technique for analyzing urban growth—that shared economic and quality of life interests are more important than physically growing together.

Scholars at Virginia Tech defined the megapolitans based on economic and growth patterns.
The Sun Corridor, which cuts across six counties from the border with Mexico to the center of Yavapai County, is the home of eight out of 10 Arizonans. In the next several decades, two out of three Americans will live in a megapolitan accounting for 60% of the population on only 10% of U.S. land.

Megapolitan offers a bold new picture of Arizona’s geography and its future opportunities and “megaton” challenges. This report presents a scenario for 2035 based on current trends. It analyzes the Sun Corridor and provides insights into the region’s global potential, water, governance, sustainability, and “trillion dollar questions.” It discusses the “tragedy of the sunshine” and asks the indispensable question: In 2035, do you want to live in the Sun Corridor?

It is an oversimplification to describe the new economy as a technology revolution, something that is mostly driven by and affects business. Clearly, new technologies and business practices are central to the concept of a new economy. However, that’s the easy part to understand. The bigger challenge is to grasp—and then develop strategies to take advantage of—how public policies in the new economy can most positively affect people and places. This report is meant to help Arizonans do just that.