How to stop Arizona's boom-bust economy
- Bob Robson%3A Our state remains too dependent on growth to power its economy
- Building more university research capacity drives high-paying jobs
- The return on investment suggests it%27s time to look at another research cash infusion
It's déjà vu all over again, as the baseball great Yogi Berra would say. And as a state policy maker, I have to agree: We have been faced with huge budget deficits before, and we do find a way to make ends meet, at least until next time.
I am hoping this year the Legislature might take a baby step toward reducing some of the fluctuation in our economy.
In 2003 the state was also facing a projected deficit of about $1 billion. At that time it became painfully obvious to me, as it is now, that our one-horse economy, highly dependent on outsized demographic growth rates, was the culprit.
I led an effort then to boost and diversify our state economy by making a relatively small investment in our public university system. The future economic well-being of our state depends on diversifying our economy away from its heavy dependence on population growth.
Arizona State University President Michael Crow and I worked together to make $500 million worth of financing available for the construction of new research facilities at our universities, a small investment relative to our $200 billion state economy.
ASU Biodesign Institute Building A was one of those facilities. The facility has enhanced Arizona's competitiveness in the bioscience sector, an area that has seen tremendous growth since 2003. Moreover, the sector has weathered economic downturns while providing many high-paying jobs to Arizonans.
In addition to the biodesign facility in Tempe, three interdisciplinary science and technology buildings were constructed at ASU, two in Tempe and one in Mesa.
At the University of Arizona in Tucson, the investment led to the construction of a research facility at the BIO5 Institute as well as one other medical research and chemistry facility on campus.
In Flagstaff, facilities were built to house applied research and development efforts, and at Northern Arizona University, renovations of existing labs were completed along with the addition of a science and education building at NAU's Yuma campus.
Lastly, a research facility jointly operated by UA and ASU at the biomedical campus in downtown Phoenix was realized by the legislation.
Stemming from these investments, about 6,500 short-term construction jobs were created, as well as thousands of permanent high-paying research jobs.
Annual research activity at the three universities stood at just more than $715 million in 2005, when the new research buildings began operating. In 2013, after all facilities were completed, the research activity had grown to more than $1 billion.
If one considers the multiplier effect of the additional investment activities that came into the state from technology companies and startups seeking to supply and support these facilities and their researchers, the impact is much greater.
I was encouraged last session when Sen. Don Shooter introduced Senate Bill 1378, which was similar to the legislation I sponsored in 2003. The major difference being that Shooter's legislation doubled the size of the investment, which would have led to $1 billion being available to finance research facility construction.
As policy makers, we must think about the future beyond one or two election cycles and continue to take baby steps toward diversifying our state's economy. If we do not, we will remain on the roller-coaster ride of boom and bust.
Maybe it is time to thoughtfully consider policy options that will permanently rectify our current fiscal situation, rather than budget cuts that only get us through one year.
State Rep. Bob Robson, Chandler, has served in the Legislature from 2001-08 and since 2011.
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