In 2022, Scioto Analysis was busier than ever. We have been working hard to improve the quality of public policy analysis at the state and local level. As the calendar year comes to its end, we thought it would be fun to look back at the research Scioto Analysis put out this year. We got to work on projects that covered many parts of the public policy discussion, from income inequality to water systems to the impact of climate on local government.
Energy Storage Roadmap for Northern Appalachia
This project was a collaboration with researchers from the Energy Policy Center at Cleveland State University. The goal of this project was to create an energy storage roadmap to help stakeholders transition into a growing market by understanding the assets available in Appalachia for the energy storage sector.
Northern Appalachia has long been associated with energy and natural resources. Now, as energy storage and transportation technologies keep evolving, this region has the opportunity to pivot its infrastructure into this new field. This report summarizes the current state of the energy industry and provides guidance on how to pivot those resources to this emerging industry.
Municipal Tree Planting Programs: A Cost-Benefit Analysis
This project was a cost-benefit analysis examining the impact of tree planting programs in Ohio cities. Planting trees in a city can help the environment, improve physical and mental health, increase housing value, and even help reduce crime.
Our analysis found that on average, planting and maintaining a new tree would cost an Ohio city just over $10 and provide benefits between $10 - $21 depending on the city. A single city could receive net benefits as high as $110 million depending on the canopy coverage goal.
The Bill is Coming Due: Calculating the Financial Cost of Climate Change to Ohio’s Local Governments
Scioto’s biggest project of the year was estimating the local financial costs that will arise because of climate change. This project was a collaboration with Power a Clean Future Ohio and the Ohio Environmental Council.
In this study, we looked at how much new spending local governments will incur as a result of new climate factors like increased temperature and precipitation. For 10 important spending categories, we project that local governments in Ohio will have to spend between $1.8 and $5.9 billion additional dollars per year by 2050 to counteract the effects of climate change.
This study looked at income inequality in Ohio and analyzed a few policy options that might alleviate it. Ohio currently has slightly more income inequality than the average state, with the top 1% of Ohioans making 10% of the state’s income and the bottom 50% making only 13%.
The three potential policy options we examined were a refundable earned income tax credit, an increase to the minimum wage in Ohio, and a negative state income tax. Among these options, implementing a negative state income tax was the most effective at reducing income inequality in our simulations.
Water Quality in Ohio: a Cost-Benefit Analysis
Our most recent project was a cost-benefit analysis about voluntary nutrient management programs as part of the H2Ohio initiative. This was the first cost-benefit analysis conducted by new Scioto policy analyst Michael Hartnett.
Our research showed that under current conditions, the program provides close to $3 million in net benefits from improved water quality to Ohioans. Assuming the program continues to remain effective, allowing farmers from the rest of the state to enroll in the program could result in about $12 million in net benefits.