Filtering by
- All Subjects: Technology and state
- All Subjects: Economic development
- Creators: Morrison Institute for Public Policy
- Status: Published
For decades, Arizona was one of the national leaders in aggregate economic growth, as measured by the percent change in measures such as gross product and employment. However, its growth rate always has been highly cyclical. During expansionary periods, Arizona always has been among the top states on the rate of growth. During recessions, the Arizona economy generally slumped at a rate similar to the national average, but would experience a rapid recovery. This pattern continued through the economic expansion of the mid-2000s.
Sun Corridor: A Competitive Mindset builds upon the 2008 Megapolitan report by looking at present and future prospects for the Sun Corridor, the economic heart of Arizona stretching along Interstate 10 from Phoenix to Tucson, down Interstate 19 to the Mexican border.
Arizona faces some big challenges if it is to compete regionally, nationally and globally for the cutting-edge jobs that will help determine our economic future. As hard as state and community leaders are working, the report suggests that Arizona needs even more participation in economic development leadership, more collaboration among economic development groups and a greater sense of urgency. This report identifies a number of important issues that are key to advancing economic development in Arizona.
Economic development leaders and public officials throughout the country are tending to the effects of a sour economy and huge state budget deficits when they would rather be creating quality jobs and new economy assets. According to the most prominent thinking on today’s knowledge economy, locally developed and exported technology will be the primary economic differentiator between future winners and losers. Thus, with long-term fiscal and economic health at stake, the 50-state race is on for advantages and leadership in science and technology. This report sheds light on these issues through an overview of Arizona’s standing in science and technology today, short case studies of four competitors in the west, as well as Arizona, and ideas for Arizona’s leaders to consider as they strive to give our state an edge.
The March 2006 responses to a statewide representative telephone survey show that a majority of Arizonans see science and technology research as a source of high-paying jobs and are every bit as interested in science and technology as leaders are. Arizonans "get" the benefits of a science and technology-based future and the power of science and technology to spawn desirable employment opportunities. Some cautions emerge as well, but even so, most Arizonans look to science and technology as integral to a bright economic future.
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?
A movement of the magnitude required for Arizona to become truly competitive in science, engineering and medical research needs a compass. The vision statement presented in the 2002 Flinn-Battelle "Roadmap" report was just that. Given Arizona’s progress in bioscience and scientific research since then, the challenges for 2006 and beyond are to achieve that original vision and also to expand the state’s aspirations. The pathway provided in this document presents ten fundamental, collaborative steps for navigating toward this goal.