Research

Common Sense Institute (CSI) strives to develop insightful and educational research on the most critical debates facing Colorado. CSI employs rigorous research techniques and dynamic modeling to evaluate the potential impact of issues on the Colorado economy and individual opportunity. CSI provides elected officials, policy makers and Coloradans with facts and data-driven analysis to help make informed decisions about the biggest issues facing the state. CSI research has also sparked innovative policy solutions and bipartisan, solutions-based discussion about the future of Colorado.

Education

Energy & Our Environment

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Jobs & Our Economy

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Taxes & Fees

The Decline of Condominium Construction in Colorado: Addressing Litigation Reform to Alleviate the Housing Affordability Crisis

2023 Research, 2024 Research, Featured Research, Housing & Our Community, Recent Research, Research

Condo development has grinded to a near halt in Colorado.

Inflation in Colorado – November 2023

2023 Research, Featured Research, Inflation Reports, Recent Research, Research

Between September and November, prices in Denver fell by .34%. This was the first two-month period of deflation since September of last year.

Colorado’s Free Enterprise Report – 2024 Edition

2023 Research, Featured Research, Research

The Free Enterprise Report is a marquis report that provides an objective, non-partisan, fact-based analysis of the Colorado economic landscape and the state’s most pressing issues.

Colorado Budget: Then and Now

2023 Research, Featured Research, Research, State Budget

Colorado Budget Then and Now illuminates the changes in Colorado state budget appropriations over the last twenty years. The figures included in the report provide a summary overview of revenue allocated to state departments through the budgeting process. The trends in appropriations reflect the shifting priorities brought on as a direct result of the laws and budgets passed each legislative session.

EXPLORE CSI RESEARCH

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Colorado Jobs and Labor Force Update: January 2022

March 14, 2022 • 3 min read

Colorado added 6,700 jobs in January and December jobs were revised upwards by 28,100. January non-farm employment rose to 2,813,500 which is just below that of January 2020’s 2,820,300. Though employment has nearly returned to the pre-pandemic level of January 2020, job growth needs to accelerate for employment to keep pace with population growth.

Tags: colorado jobs, January, January 2022, Jobs Report, Labor Force Update, LFPR

Colorado’s Economic Recovery Through the Lens of Taxable Sales

March 8, 2022 • 6 min read

Colorado economic activity as proxied by taxable sales, generated from the purchase of taxable goods and services, has more than fully recovered. Through the end of 2021, this crucial driver of both state and local sales tax revenue has grown well beyond pre-pandemic levels, even after adjusting for population growth and recent inflation.

Tags: colorado, covid-19, economic recovery, inflation, Pandemic, taxable goods, taxable sales, taxable services

Inflation in Colorado – January 2022 Update

February 10, 2022 • 3 min read

In 2021, inflation in the Denver metropolitan area was the highest it’s ever been since the Bureau of Labor Statistics began tracking it in 1986. The largest two-month period of inflation occurred in late spring and a resurgence at the end of the year through January added an additional 2.6%.

Tags: 2022, inflation, Inflation in Colorado, Inflation in Denver, Wage Growth

Colorado’s State Government Workforce: A Snapshot of Growth from FY2013 through FY2023

February 2, 2022 • 3 min read

The recent changes in state government employment vary greatly across each department. Though the Governor’s FY23 budget request proposes a 0.85% increase in the overall level of the state government’s workforce, five agencies are proposed to grow above 6%.

Tags: colorado, Colorado state government, government employees, state government, State Government Employment Levels

Colorado Jobs and Labor Force Update: December 2021

January 25, 2022 • 3 min read

Colorado added 9,000 jobs in December and November jobs were revised upwards by 5,000. The combined growth over the last two months of 2021 of 23,100 jobs presents a stark contrast to the prior year, when the two months combined for 25,500 job losses.

Tags: colorado jobs, December 2021, December 2021 Jobs and Labor Force Update, Jobs and Labor Force Update, labor force, LFPR

Impacts of Lowering Colorado Businesses’ $4.4 Billion Tax Bill

January 17, 2022 • 9 min read

Due to the influence of the COVID-19 pandemic and the state government’s policy responses, Colorado’s unemployment levels spiked in early 2020 and caused the state’s Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund to become deeply insolvent.

Tags: colorado, Colorado businesses, economy, SB22-066, UI, UI Trustfund, unemployment insurance, unemployment insurance trustfund

Colorado Jobs and Labor Force Update: November 2021

December 17, 2021 • 3 min read

Despite concerns of rising inflation and a new COVID-19 variant, November job growth in Colorado remained relatively strong at 9,800 jobs. This is above the monthly average job growth needed to fully recover to a pre-pandemic employment-to-population ratio by 2023.

Tags: Bureau of Labor Statistics, colorado, Jobs and Labor Force Update, labor force

Inflation in Colorado – November 2021

December 10, 2021 • 2 min read

In the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic and trillions of dollars of pandemic relief spending by the federal government, the rate of inflation in the U.S. has grown sharply in 2021 and become one of the most-discussed economic issues of the day. High inflation levels erode savings and increase the costs of daily commutes, groceries, and other consumer goods.

Tags: colorado, covid-19, inflation

The Colorado Crime Wave: An Economic Analysis of Crime and the Need for Data Driven Solutions

December 9, 2021 • 19 min read

The total cost of crime in Colorado exceeded $27 billion in 2020. While costs are disproportionately felt by victims, this implies an average cost per Coloradan of $4,762 per year. The 2021 costs will grow, as the violent crime rate is on pace to be the highest since 1994, a 10% annual increase.

Tags: colorado, Crime, Murder Rate, Property Crime, Violent Crime

Colorado Jobs and Labor Force Update: October 2021

November 19, 2021 • 3 min read

Driven by labor shortages and increased employment opportunities, job growth in October surged to its highest monthly amount since July. Labor force participation of mothers during the pandemic lagged consistently up until September. Their overall participation rate in October remained higher than pre-pandemic levels for the second straight month.

Tags: colorado jobs, October

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