APPENDIX
A
STATE OF THE COMMONWEALTH INDEX
The Kentucky State of the Commonwealth Index incorporates 26 long-term indicators covering 1990 to 2001, in the areas of vibrant, nurturing communities; lifelong, quality educational opportunities; a sustainable, prosperous economy; a clean, beautiful environment; and an honest, participatory government at all levels.
What indicators were used? (weights are in parentheses)
Communities (20%)
·
Crime
Index––the number of serious crimes reported to law enforcement
per 100,000 persons. The crime index consists of selected offenses: murder,
nonnegligent manslaughter, forcible rape, robbery, aggravated assault,
burglary, larceny-theft, motor vehicle theft, and arson.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice,
Uniform
Crime Reports, “Table 4. Index of Crime by Region, Geographic
Division, and State, [selected years].”
·
Employee
Rates for Persons with Disabilities––the percent of
noninstitutionalized civilians with disabilities age 25 through 61 who were
employed. Disability is defined using a single question in the March CPS.
Persons with a disability are defined as those who report having (or are
reported by the household’s respondent as having) “a health problem or
disability which prevents them from working or which limits the kind or amount
of work they can do.” This definition puts disability in the social context
of work and is commonly used in the economics literature.
Source:
Employment estimates were calculated by Andrew Houtenville, Ph.D.,
of the Rehabilitation Research and Training Center for economic Research on
Employment Policy for People with Disabilities, Cornell University, using date
from the March Current Population Survey (CPS) for the years shown.
·
Homeownership
Rates––the percent of the total number of occupied households
that were owner-occupied households.
Source:
U.S. Census Bureau, Housing
Vacancy Survey: Annual 2000, “Table 13: Homeownership Rates by
State: 1984 to 2000,”
www.census.gov/hhes/www/housing/hvs/annual00/ann00t13.html
August 7, 2001.
·
Health
Insurance Coverage––the percent of all people covered by
private or government health insurance.
Source:
U.S. Census Bureau, Historical
Health Insurance Tables, “Table HI-4. Health Insurance Coverage
Status and Type of Coverage by State, All People: 1987 to 2001,” www.census.gov/hhes/hlthins/historic/hihistt4.html.
·
Teen
Birth Rates––the number of births to girls age 15 to 17 years
old per 1,000 girls age 15 to 17 years old.
Source:
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics, National
Vital Statistics Report, “Table 1. Birth rates for teenagers aged
15-19 years, by age group and state and territory, and percent change by age:
United States, 1991 and 2000,” (Atlanta, GA: Author, May 30, 2002) 50:9 and
“Table 4. Birth rates for teenagers 15-19 years by age of mother: United
States and each state, 1990-1999,” (Atlanta, GA: Author, September 25, 2001)
49:10.
·
Smoking
Rate––the percent of the population 18 years old and older who
are current smokers. A “current smoker” is one who has ever smoked 100
cigarettes in his or her lifetime and reported smoking every day or some days.
Source:
The Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, http://apps.nccd.cdc.gov/brfss/Trends/TrendData.asp.
·
Charitable
Contributions––the annual average amount of contributions
deductions per total number of tax returns filed.
Source: Internal Revenue Service, Statistics
of Income Bulletin (Washington, DC: Author, selected years).
Education (20%)
·
High
School Attainment Rate––the percent of adults 25 to 64 years
old who have at least a high school diploma or equivalent.
Source: Author’s calculations using data from the
March Current Population Survey, from the U.S. Census Bureau.
·
College
Attainment Rate––the percent of adults 25 to 64 years old who
have at least a four-year college degree.
Source:
Author’s calculations using data from the March Current
Population Survey, from the U.S. Census Bureau.
·
ACT
Average Composite Scores––the state-level ACT average composite
score.
Source:
ACT, Inc. Scores for 1994 to 2001 provided online at www.act.org.
Scores for 1990 to 1993 provided by the Kentucky Council on Postsecondary
Education.
·
Grade
8 NAEP Math Results––the percent of eighth graders who scored
at or above basic level on the National Assessment and Educational Progress
Mathematics Exam.
Source:
The National Center for Education Statistics, The
Nation’s Report Card, “State Profiles,” available online at http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/states/profile.asp.
Economy (20%)
·
Per
Capita Income––total income divided by total state population.
Source:
Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Economic Accounts, http://www.bea.gov/bea/regional/spi.
·
Poverty
Rate––the percent of people living below the poverty level,
three-year moving average.
Source:
U.S. Census Bureau, Historical
Poverty Tables, “Table 21. Number of Poor and Poverty Rate, by
State, 1980 to 2001,” last revised September 30, 2002,
http://www.census.gov/hhes/poverty/histpov/hstpov21.html.
·
Per
Capita Gross State Product––total gross state product divided
by total state population.
Source:
Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Economic Accounts, http://www.bea.gov/bea/regional/spi.
·
Business
Formation––the number of establishments per 100 people.
Source:
The U.S. Census Bureau, County Business Patterns. The data are
extracted from the Census Bureau’s file of all known single and
multiestablishment companies.
·
U.S.
Patents––average annual number of U.S. patents issued per
10,000 business establishments.
Source:
U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, Office of Electronic Information Products/TAF
Branch, Patent
Counts by Country/State and Year, All Patents, All Types, January 1,
1977-December 31, 2001 (Washington, DC: Author, 2001) and U.S.
Census Bureau, County
Business Patterns.
·
Home
Computer Access––the percent of people who have access to a
computer in their home.
Source:
Kentucky Long-Term Policy Research Center calculations using U.S.
Census Bureau data from the October, Computer Usage Supplement to the Current
Population Survey. The survey asks a variation of the following question in
each of the years shown here: Is
there a computer in this household?.
·
Internet
Access––the percent of people with access to network services
anywhere.
Source:
Kentucky Long-Term Policy Research Center calculations using U.S.
Census Bureau data from the October, Computer Usage Supplement to the Current
Population Survey.
Environment (20%)
·
Per
Capita Air Emissions––total air emissions divided by total
state population. These are toxic release inventory data of total on- and
off-site reported air emissions, in pounds, for facilities in Original
Industries (SIC Codes 20-39(1))
and for 1988 Core Chemicals.
TRI data do have certain limitations. TRI data reflect releases and
other waste management of chemicals, and not exposures of the public to those
chemicals. TRI data alone are not sufficient to determine exposure or to
calculate potential adverse effects on human health and the environment.
Source:
The Environmental Protection Agency, Toxic Release Inventory, TRI
Explorer, www.epa.gov/triexplorer.
·
Per
Capita Surface Water Discharges––total surface water discharges
divided by total state population. These are toxic release inventory data of
total on- and off-site reported surface water discharges, in pounds, for
facilities in Original Industries (SIC Codes 20-39) and for 1988 Core
Chemicals.
Source:
The Environmental Protection Agency, Toxic Release Inventory, TRI
Explorer, www.epa.gov/triexplorer.
·
Per
Capita Land Releases––total land releases divided by total
state population. These are toxic release inventory data of total on- and
off-site reported land releases, in pounds, for facilities in Original
Industries (SIC Codes 20-39) and for 1988 Core Chemicals.
Source:
The Environmental Protection Agency, Toxic Release Inventory, TRI
Explorer, www.epa.gov/triexplorer.
·
Air
Quality––percentage of people who live in counties that meet
standards for air pollutants. Note that the nonattainment records show that
either part of a county was in violation or the whole county. Since we are
intent on capturing broad trends only, we considered a violation for a part of
or the whole county as affecting the whole population of the county, whether
directly or indirectly.
Source:
Office of Air and Radiation, Environmental Protection
Agency, (2002). The Greenbook: Nonattainment Areas for Criteria Pollutants.
·
Water
Quality––percentage of population served by community water
systems that have no health-based violations.
Source:
Office of Water, Environmental Protection Agency (2002). SIDWIS/FED
(Safe Drinking Water Information System/Federal version) database.
Government (20%)
·
State
and Local Government Efficiency––the number of state residents
served per state and local government employee, excluding education employees.
As the number of residents served by state government workers increases, then
so does the efficiency with which state government services are provided. In
principle, states with a more entrepreneurial and innovative public sector
should be increasing the number of residents served per government worker over
time even as the workers take on more responsibilities.
Source:
U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates Program, Population
Division, “ST-99-3 State Population Estimates: Annual Time Series, July 1,
1990, to July 1, 1999,” (Washington, DC: Author, December 1999) and U.S.
Census Bureau, Governments Division, State
and Local Government Employment and Payroll Data, www.census.gov/govs/www/apesstl.html.
·
Women
in State Legislature––the percent of the total state
legislature offices held by women. An inclusive political process that is open
to all participants, regardless of gender, is a reliable indicator of the
equity of representation.
Source:
Center for American Women and Politics, October 13, 2003, http://www.rci.rutgers.edu/~cawp/Facts4.html.
·
Voting
Participation Rates––the percent of the citizen voting-age
population that voted in the most recent presidential election.
Source:
U.S. Census Bureau, “Table A-3. Reported Voting and Registration
for Total and Citizen Voting-Age Population, by State for Presidential
Elections: 1972-2000.”
How were the indexes calculated?
1. To arrive at the index score comparing Kentucky to the rest of the states, we calculated the mean and standard deviations for each of the 26 indicators across the 50 states and the 17 peer states, for each year between the period of 1990 and 2001.
2. These estimates were then used to construct Z-scores. The Z-score for a standard normal distribution is:
zi = (xi-mi)/si
where
zi =the distance from the mean, measured in standard deviation
units
xi
= the indicator value for a state in year i
mi=
the indicator sample mean over all the states in year i
si
= the indicator sample standard deviation over all the states in year i.
In the case of an inverted indicator, one where increases in value reflect worsening performance (for example, the crime index or adult smoking rates), the Z-score was calculated by subtracting the indicator value for the state from the mean for that year.
3. The associated probability values were derived directly from the Z-scores using a cumulative standard normal distribution. The probability values range in value from 0, indicating the worst performance among the states, to 1.0, indicating the best relative performance among the states. These values were then multiplied by 1000. The new range of scores was 0 to 1000, in theory. In practice, since no state performs perfectly in all indicators at the same time, the actual range was approximately 200 to 800, with many scores clustering around the mean of 500.
4. The indicators fell within one of the following five themes: communities, education, the economy, the environment, and government and there were unequal numbers of indicators in each category. To avoid weighting one theme more heavily than the others, each theme was weighted equally at 20 percent. To avoid further subjective judgement in the importance of a particular indicator, each indicator was weighted equally within its theme. Since the themes had different numbers of indicators, the indicator weights varied between themes. The final index score is an average of the subindex scores.
5. A second State of the Commonwealth Index (Index II) was developed similarly, using only the following 16 peer states: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia. These states were identified in 1995 and 1999 as “competitor” states for Kentucky by two tax structure studies that were done in those years and are demographically, geographically, and economically similar in makeup to Kentucky.
6. There were several indicators for which data were available for every state in every year. These include home computer access, access to network services, the grade 8 math NAEP results, and voter participation rates. Interpolation of data for the years in which the data were unavailable consisted of a linear approximation using the years for which data were available. In the case of the grade 8 math NAEP results, some states did not participate in all the years in which the exam was available. In these cases those states were given the average results from the states for which data were available and then linear interpolation for the “off” years proceeded as usual.
What does the Index Tell Us?
The Index tells us that while Kentucky remains well below the average quality of life found throughout the United States and falls slightly short of the average found among its peer states, tremendous progress has been made toward closing those gaps in a relatively short amount of time. Kentucky’s index score increased 15 percent over this period relative to the nation and 14 percent relative to its peers. In addition, although Kentucky fell back slightly from its 1998 peak scores, the state has begun to increase in more recent years, ending the period just shy of those high scores and well above the low status of the early 1990s.
Figure
A.1: Kentucky's State of the Commonwealth Index Relative to the US,
1990-2001
Figure
A.2: Kentucky's State of the
Commonwealth Index Relative to Its Peer States, 1990-2001 TABLE
A.1 Index
Scores and Ranks by Index Score by State, United States, 1990-2001 Index
Score (Rank) State
Name 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 Alabama 299 (48) 298 (48) 284 (48) 302 (48) 290 (48) 277 (48) 300 (47) 286 (46) 281 (47) 288 (46) 259 (47) 247 (48) Alaska 496 (29) 505 (29) 534 (25) 539 (25) 550 (24) 561 (22) 547 (23) 506 (30) 503 (31) 529 (27) 533 (26) 540 (27) Arizona 473 (32) 460 (33) 503 (32) 511 (30) 473 (33) 430 (36) 407 (37) 426 (37) 421 (37) 449 (36) 466 (35) 436 (37) Arkansas 339 (44) 342 (44) 342 (45) 339 (44) 316 (45) 319 (46) 307 (46) 265 (48) 295 (46) 281 (47) 286 (46) 282 (46) California 453 (36) 455 (34) 439 (35) 455 (35) 471 (34) 453 (35) 469 (34) 480 (34) 471 (34) 494 (32) 488 (33) 511 (33) Colorado 634 (7) 634 (6) 659 (6) 670 (5) 682 (5) 678 (6) 651 (6) 650 (7) 655 (6) 661 (5) 665 (5) 638 (9) Connecticut 689 (3) 651 (5) 694 (3) 709 (2) 684 (4) 686 (5) 684 (5) 699 (3) 693 (3) 690 (4) 729 (3) 739 (2) Delaware 513 (26) 482 (31) 511 (30) 505 (31) 531 (27) 505 (32) 531 (29) 515 (29) 524 (28) 505 (31) 502 (29) 526 (29) Florida 401 (37) 412 (37) 419 (37) 399 (38) 397 (38) 409 (37) 421 (36) 427 (36) 438 (36) 447 (37) 452 (36) 449 (36) Georgia 357 (42) 364 (42) 371 (41) 374 (41) 410 (37) 381 (40) 380 (41) 371 (41) 356 (43) 356 (42) 378 (41) 380 (41) Hawaii 577 (19) 599 (15) 580 (17) 566 (20) 561 (20) 529 (26) 511 (32) 495 (32) 485 (32) 494 (32) 491 (32) 521 (30) Idaho 583 (17) 591 (17) 572 (19) 589 (16) 619 (10) 586 (17) 572 (19) 555 (23) 527 (27) 516 (28) 488 (33) 528 (28) Illinois 493 (30) 505 (29) 505 (31) 512 (29) 529 (28) 543 (24) 536 (27) 559 (22) 566 (22) 545 (25) 530 (28) 547 (25) Indiana 469 (33) 475 (32) 478 (33) 502 (32) 485 (32) 519 (29) 517 (31) 490 (33) 519 (29) 506 (30) 499 (30) 517 (31) Iowa 644 (6) 634 (6) 633 (9) 636 (9) 629 (9) 633 (8) 643 (7) 650 (7) 632 (9) 624 (9) 607 (13) 634 (10) Kansas 617 (11) 621 (10) 640 (8) 628 (11) 599 (15) 615 (11) 629 (10) 656 (6) 640 (8) 644 (6) 624 (8) 614 (12) Kentucky 330 (46) 328 (46) 339 (46) 353 (43) 342 (44) 359 (43) 346 (44) 351 (44) 385 (39) 376 (41) 377 (42) 381 (40) Louisiana 264 (50) 272 (50) 269 (49) 256 (49) 243 (50) 266 (49) 265 (49) 258 (49) 249 (49) 258 (49) 234 (50) 216 (50) Maine 599 (15) 580 (20) 579 (18) 582 (17) 610 (13) 609 (12) 600 (15) 615 (12) 609 (11) 623 (10) 593 (16) 583 (18) Maryland 580 (18) 568 (21) 560 (21) 595 (15) 582 (17) 594 (14) 619 (12) 635 (10) 607 (14) 611 (13) 613 (12) 647 (7) Massachusetts 606 (14) 631 (9) 614 (12) 637 (8) 640 (8) 624 (9) 631 (9) 642 (9) 646 (7) 644 (6) 647 (6) 651 (6) Michigan 531 (24) 526 (26) 546 (22) 572 (19) 580 (19) 594 (14) 597 (16) 611 (14) 609 (11) 620 (11) 644 (7) 647 (7) Minnesota 688 (4) 687 (3) 711 (2) 733 (1) 758 (1) 758 (1) 763 (1) 777 (1) 790 (1) 790 (1) 805 (1) 801 (1) Mississippi 298 (49) 286 (49) 267 (50) 255 (50) 275 (49) 257 (50) 249 (50) 255 (50) 239 (50) 240 (50) 244 (49) 221 (49) Missouri 519 (25) 533 (25) 536 (24) 526 (27) 540 (25) 575 (20) 557 (22) 522 (27) 534 (26) 538 (26) 573 (20) 563 (22) TABLE
A.1 (CONTINUED) 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 Montana 565 (21) 591 (17) 540 (23) 556 (22) 559 (21) 543 (24) 542 (26) 533 (26) 508 (30) 512 (29) 532 (27) 513 (32) Nebraska 584 (16) 616 (12) 618 (11) 578 (18) 601 (14) 622 (10) 636 (8) 614 (13) 602 (17) 580 (19) 585 (18) 561 (23) Nevada 459 (34) 451 (35) 441 (34) 473 (34) 471 (34) 481 (33) 481 (33) 506 (30) 481 (33) 452 (35) 442 (37) 482 (35) New
Hampshire 698 (2) 691 (2) 713 (1) 693 (4) 711 (3) 717 (3) 690 (4) 692 (4) 690 (4) 698 (3) 712 (4) 728 (3) New
Jersey 568 (20) 563 (22) 561 (20) 553 (23) 554 (22) 549 (23) 543 (25) 568 (17) 601 (18) 601 (16) 568 (23) 574 (21) New
Mexico 353 (43) 353 (43) 359 (42) 360 (42) 370 (42) 340 (45) 317 (45) 367 (42) 363 (42) 352 (44) 363 (43) 361 (43) New
York 454 (35) 444 (36) 436 (36) 445 (36) 462 (36) 461 (34) 462 (35) 455 (35) 461 (35) 467 (34) 496 (31) 499 (34) North
Carolina 373 (40) 365 (41) 355 (43) 377 (40) 372 (41) 388 (39) 394 (39) 405 (38) 404 (38) 395 (38) 398 (38) 396 (38) North
Dakota 624 (9) 605 (14) 582 (16) 623 (13) 588 (16) 604 (13) 571 (20) 555 (23) 604 (15) 583 (18) 594 (15) 587 (17) Ohio 507 (27) 513 (28) 516 (29) 523 (28) 512 (29) 520 (28) 559 (21) 561 (21) 560 (23) 567 (23) 560 (24) 543 (26) Oklahoma 389 (38) 398 (38) 413 (38) 414 (37) 389 (39) 405 (38) 399 (38) 391 (39) 383 (40) 390 (39) 398 (38) 378 (42) Oregon 620 (10) 618 (11) 602 (14) 624 (12) 617 (11) 570 (21) 583 (18) 562 (20) 608 (13) 591 (17) 622 (10) 597 (15) Pennsylvania 497 (28) 543 (23) 532 (26) 529 (26) 506 (30) 507 (31) 532 (28) 545 (25) 546 (25) 567 (23) 569 (22) 580 (19) Rhode
Island 490 (31) 516 (27) 528 (28) 500 (33) 499 (31) 513 (30) 546 (24) 563 (19) 604 (15) 575 (20) 540 (25) 551 (24) South
Carolina 320 (47) 332 (45) 308 (47) 307 (47) 306 (47) 278 (47) 281 (48) 283 (47) 268 (48) 266 (48) 258 (48) 270 (47) South
Dakota 563 (22) 584 (19) 599 (15) 565 (21) 552 (23) 579 (19) 607 (14) 572 (16) 579 (21) 615 (12) 618 (11) 623 (11) Tennessee 331 (45) 317 (47) 347 (44) 339 (44) 357 (43) 366 (42) 388 (40) 351 (44) 338 (44) 345 (45) 331 (45) 312 (45) Texas 385 (39) 384 (40) 376 (40) 388 (39) 379 (40) 371 (41) 378 (42) 385 (40) 378 (41) 377 (40) 379 (40) 383 (39) Utah 631 (8) 633 (8) 644 (7) 653 (7) 649 (7) 647 (7) 623 (11) 616 (11) 600 (19) 606 (14) 571 (21) 575 (20) Vermont 707 (1) 695 (1) 687 (4) 699 (3) 732 (2) 735 (2) 720 (2) 725 (2) 735 (2) 735 (2) 734 (2) 708 (4) Virginia 550 (23) 536 (24) 531 (27) 550 (24) 540 (25) 529 (26) 521 (30) 522 (27) 557 (24) 575 (20) 599 (14) 600 (14) Washington 617 (11) 612 (13) 622 (10) 633 (10) 617 (11) 587 (16) 585 (17) 594 (15) 625 (10) 606 (14) 589 (17) 614 (12) West
Virginia 367 (41) 390 (39) 377 (39) 337 (46) 314 (46) 350 (44) 358 (43) 362 (43) 335 (45) 353 (43) 356 (44) 345 (44) Wisconsin 685 (5) 669 (4) 670 (5) 670 (5) 681 (6) 686 (4) 696 (3) 675 (5) 660 (5) 632 (8) 624 (8) 673 (5) Wyoming 609 (13) 593 (16) 611 (13) 607 (14) 581 (18) 582 (18) 615 (13) 565 (18) 580 (20) 572 (22) 578 (19) 588 (16) TABLE
A.2 Index
Scores and Ranks by Index Score by Peer State, United States,
1990-2001 Index
Score (Rank) State
Name 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 Alabama 350 (15) 344 (16) 362 (15) 362 (15) 359 (15) 316 (15) 348 (14) 357 (14) 341 (14) 355 (13) 308 (15) 297 (15) Arkansas 426 (11) 428 (11) 439 (11) 425 (11) 387 (13) 378 (13) 362 (13) 324 (15) 364 (13) 337 (14) 332 (13) 338 (13) Florida 554 (7) 566 (7) 556 (7) 546 (7) 534 (7) 553 (7) 567 (7) 568 (7) 577 (7) 581 (7) 587 (7) 582 (7) Georgia 479 (9) 489 (8) 480 (8) 503 (8) 524 (8) 494 (9) 494 (9) 485 (9) 471 (10) 459 (10) 486 (9) 495 (9) Illinois 669 (5) 664 (4) 651 (4) 666 (4) 661 (4) 674 (3) 659 (4) 681 (2) 689 (2) 668 (4) 651 (5) 673 (4) Indiana 600 (6 604 (6) 585 (6) 622 (6) 634 (6) 652 (5) 623 (6) 596 (6) 634 (6) 612 (6) 593 (6) 647 (6) Kentucky 420 (12) 394 (13) 435 (12) 449 (10) 430 (
11) 454 (11) 431 (12) 438 (12) 482 (9) 460 (9) 473 (10) 479 (10) Louisiana 319 (17) 346 (15) 338 (16) 300 (16) 282 (17) 306 (16) 297 (16) 304 (16) 282 (16) 301 (16) 288 (16) 259 (16) Michigan 724 (1) 699 (1) 714 (1) 752 (1) 754 (1) 763 (1) 762 (1) 760 (1) 770 (1) 786 (1) 818 (1) 822 (1) Mississippi 329 (16) 331 (17) 301 (17) 280 (17) 317 (16) 283 (17) 257