Oklahoma

State

Senate

Quarterly
Monitor

Oklahoma Senate Staff

May 1998

Economic Development Under Oklahoma's 46th Legislature

At the beginning of the 1998 legislative session, Oklahoma 2000, Inc., released State Policy & Economic Development in Oklahoma: 1998¹. The report discusses the investigations of a familiar group of economists² into Oklahoma's recent economic performance.

Their initial charge was to explain the factors underlying Oklahoma's per capita personal income gap, and to recommend policy options that would help the state boost income levels. This issue of the Quarterly Monitor examines the efforts of Oklahoma's 46th legislature in light of the Oklahoma 2000 recommendations.

What Are Oklahoma's Economic Challenges?

According to the authors, Oklahomans have historically undervalued long-term investment. Oklahoma's resulting social culture is marked by:

• low educational attainment;
  
  
• a lack of highly skilled workers;
  
  
• low full-time labor force participation;
  
  
• above average crime rates; and
  
  
• high rates of divorce, bankruptcy, and teen pregnancy.
  

46th Legislature: In Light of Recommendations

During the 1997 Session, the 46th Legislature anticipated several of the authors' recommendations by passing bills consistent with forthcoming Oklahoma 2000 recommendations. In the "Legislative Actions" sections below, legislation enacted in 1997 appears in italics.

Currently, as the final weeks of the second session of the 46th Legislature unfold, most bills remain pending. The following summary highlights components of measures in conference at the time of this writing (unless otherwise noted) that would directly address Oklahoma 2000 concerns and recommendations.

² Drs. Alexander Holmes and Donald Murry from The University of Oklahoma, and Drs. Kent Olson and Larkin Warner from Oklahoma State University. 

Promoting Tourism Pays Off
for Rural Counties

The Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City published a report earlier this year that demonstrates the economic advantage of counties that promote tourism. Rural counties can share the economic benefits of tourism by: increasing public awareness of available recreational resources; and encouraging and maintaining a "threshold level" of local scenic-based businesses.QM

Oklahoma 2000, Inc. Recommendations: HUMAN CAPITAL

Oklahoma can boost productivity, and subsequently income levels, by increasing the training and education of its work force, and by encouraging more Oklahomans to pursue and retain full-time employment. The state should:

• invest in education and worker training;
  
  
• encourage greater labor force participation; and
  
  
• focus on reducing rates of teen pregnancy, divorce, bankruptcy, and crime.