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

Healthcare

Housing & Our Community

Infrastructure

Jobs & Our Economy

State Budget

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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The Economic Footprint of Homelessness in Metro Denver

November 4, 2021 • 31 min read

Common Sense Institute has partnered with several local organizations and leaders to conduct a three-phase project to understand the many challenges and types of homelessness. This is Phase one of this project and is focused on the current resources dedicated to the homeless in Metro Denver.

Tags: covid-19, homelessness, Metro Denver, UCDenver Inworks

Homelessness Ecosystem Analysis Phase 2

October 22, 2021 • 78 min read

Homelessness is a visible outcome of a system that does not consistently work for everyone. This report is the result of efforts to understand the systemic factors that impact homelessness in the Metropolitan Denver area through a human-centered systems design lens.

Tags: colorado, homelessness, Phase 2

Colorado Jobs and Labor Force Update: September 2021

• 3 min read

Although September job growth was lower than what is needed to achieve a full recovery by January 2023, adjusted for population growth, Colorado reached an important recovery milestone last month. For the first time since the start of the pandemic, the labor force participation rate for Colorado mothers exceeded its pre-pandemic level.

Tags: colorado jobs, covid-19, Jobs and Labor Force Update, September Jobs Report

Potential Reach of Proposition 119 “The Learning Enrichment and Academic Progress Program (LEAP)”

October 19, 2021 • 11 min read

Proposition 119 on the 2021 Colorado ballot proposes to establish the Learning Enrichment and Academic Progress Program (LEAP).

Tags: 2021 Ballot, 2021 Ballot Guide, colorado, K-12 Education, november ballot, Statewide Ballot

Are Denver Taxes Too High? The Fiscal Impacts of Ordinance 304 “Enough Taxes Already”

October 12, 2021 • 7 min read

Ordinance 304 or the “Enough Taxes Already” ballot initiative proposes to cut the City of Denver’s sales tax from 4.81% to 4.5% and impose a cap at the latter rate.

Tags: 2021 Ballot, 2021 Ballot Guide, Denver Ballot, november ballot, sales tax

Proposition 120: What Voters See, May Not Be What Voters Get

October 5, 2021 • 7 min read

Proposition 120 – “Property Tax Assessment Rate Reduction” proposes to permanently reduce the statewide property tax assessment rate for several classes of property.

Tags: 2021 Ballot Guide, Ballot Guide, Property Assessment Rates, Proposition 120

Dollars and Data 2021

September 29, 2021 • 25 min read

If Colorado is to have a substantive public discourse about how to improve educational outcomes, there needs to be a common understanding of how K-12 public education is funded in the state. This study analyzes statewide and regional trends in K-12 revenues and spending over the past decade to help ground conversations in facts.

Tags: colorado education, COVID-19 Relief, Eduation Funding, K-12 Education, salaries, teachers

Colorado Jobs and Labor Force Update: August 2021

September 17, 2021 • 3 min read

In April 2020, Colorado lost over 360,000 jobs, experienced the worst month of economic performance in its history, and launched into a deep and abiding recession. A little over a year later, the latest data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) show that, though Colorado’s workforce has already endured the worst of the recession and is ahead of pace to recover fully by 2023, much progress remains to be made.

Tags: colorado jobs, labor force, unemployment insurance trustfund

Homelessness Issues on the Denver 2021 Ballot: Ordinance 303 and Referred Question 2B

September 14, 2021 • 3 min read

This November, Denver voters face two ballot measures related to homelessness: Initiated Ordinance 303: “Let’s Do Better” and Referred Question 2B: Denver Housing and Sheltering System Bonds as part of the RISE GO Bond.

Tags: 2021 Ballot, Ballot Guide, denver, homelessness, housing, Ordinance 303, Referred Question 2B

Colorado Jobs and Labor Force Update: July 2021

August 20, 2021 • 3 min read

The latest Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) jobs and labor force data shows that, while the state has made significant progress from the April 2020 low points, achieving full recovery will take significantly more time.

Tags: colorado jobs, covid-19, economic recovery, labor force

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