Today, Scioto Analysis celebrates its first birthday. Over the past year, Scioto Analysis has served clients in five different states and has analyzed issues ranging from tax to health and human services to environmental and education policy. Below are Scioto Analysis’s top five studies of its first year.
Waiting for Services: Nebraska’s Developmental Disabilities Waiting List
In October, Scioto Analysis partnered with Disability Rights Nebraska and the Nebraska Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities to study the waiting list for developmental disability services in the state of Nebraska. While all Nebraskans with developmental disabilities are entitled to services to help with every day living, gaining capacity, and employment, the average Nebraskan with disabilities waits seven years to get these services. In this study, Scioto Analysis found that this was due to a $33 million shortfall in state spending from 2008 to 2016 that caused the state waiting list for services to slowly grow over that time period.Earned Income Tax Credit Refundability: A Cost-Benefit Analysis
As a social enterprise, Scioto Analysis is committed to improving the quality of public policy analysis at the state and local level, which includes demonstration projects of key analytical techniques. This August study was the first best-practices cost-benefit analysis of a state policy in Ohio in over a decade. Scioto Analysis found that proposals to expand Ohio’s state earned income tax credit would raise the average worker’s wages by hundreds of dollars along with growing the economy, increasing employment, increasing college enrollment, and reducing instances of low birthweight.Ohio’s Economy: 2009-2016
While gross domestic product is the most common indicator used to measure economic growth in the United States, it leaves out key economic considerations such as the cost of inequality and environmental damage and the value of housework and higher education. The genuine progress indicator (GPI) is an alternative indicator that measures economic growth through 26 different economic, environmental, and social indicators. When Scioto Analysis launched in November last year, it partnered with Gross National Happiness USA to measure Ohio’s GPI since the Great Recession. Scioto Analysis found that rising inequality had taken a significant bite out of Ohio’s economy since the end of the great recession, costing the average person about $900 a year.Cost-Benefit Analysis in Ohio: Building State Policymaking Infrastructure
In order to carry out its double bottom line mission, Scioto Analysis carried out a study in April assessing Ohio’s use of cost-benefit analysis in state policymaking. Scioto Analysis identified 27 studies from 2012 to 2018 that at a very minimum assessed direct costs and measured outcomes, though did not find any studies that followed the eight best practices of cost-benefit analysis.Beyond the Gas Tax: How Automation Opens the Door for Vehicle Miles Traveled Fees
In March, Scioto Analysis released a white paper on vehicle miles traveled fees for autonomous vehicles. By taking advantage of the efficiency gains of automation and the availability of data due to computerization, state and local governments will have new opportunities very soon to implement the “holy grail” of capturing the costs of driving.
It’s been a great first year for Scioto Analysis and more high-impact analysis is in the works. Stay tuned to see what great stuff we have in store for the upcoming year!