Montana Business Quarterly

Browse past and current articles from this publication.

Message from Provost Royce Engstrom.
In the world of higher education, hardly a day goes by that we don't hear about the financial challenges faced by institutions around the country. Public and private universities alike are faced wit . . .

The economic cost of alcohol abuse in Montana.(Cover story)
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Alcohol is a product that many of us in Montana clearly enjoy. In 2005, we collectively consumed 124.7 million shots of distilled spirits, 33.0 million glasses of wine and 2 . . .

Housing affordability and Montana's real estate markets.
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Introduction Housing prices in the last 20 years have surged ahead much faster than the income used to pay them. Over the span of time that the median price for a Montana . . .

Long-term care insurance: could Montana's new partnership plan have helped the Smiths?
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Mary and Bob Smith's Story Mary, age 62, and Bob, age 65, have worked hard helping their only child through college and are now looking forward to living the life of empty . . .

Pre-existing health conditions limit job flexibility.
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Nearly 47,000 Montanans identify themselves as having pre-existing health conditions that limit their ability to either buy insurance or switch health insurance carriers, an . . .

BBER hires new director of health care industry research.
The Bureau welcomes Gregg Davis, the recently hired director of health care industry research who will examine the state's health care markets, trends, costs and other high visibility topics. An e . . .

Four-wheeling: off-highway vehicle use growing.
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Introduction Four-wheeling through mud, snow, and woodsy trails continues to grow in popularity in Montana, with the state's off-highway vehicle (OHV) owners spending near . . .

Message from President George Dennison.
For decades, The Montana Business Quarterly has kept Montanans abreast of the breaking economic news, good or bad. As a result, most of us have, over the years, managed to maintain a realistic persp . . .

Montana's transportation future: opportunities around the next curve.(Cover story)
Transportation--the movement of people and goods over physical distance--has always been a vital ingredient of economic growth. Prosperity is derived from trade, which requires access to markets, wo . . .

Recession: how long and how deep?
What started as a real estate bubble bursting, with an associated financial industry crisis, as now morphed into an economy-wide (and even a worldwide) recession. Since the official beginning was pe . . .

The Montana outlook: changing conditions lead to changed forecast.
Montana's economic outlook has darkened during the past year as a national economic slowdown concentrated in a few industries (most of which aren't important here) spread to more and more sectors (s . . .

Montana home sales.
More than 76,000 home sales took place in Montana since January 1, 2003. 2005 was the peak year for sales, with 16,179 transactions taking place, but this was only slightly higher than the 2004 and . . .

Travel and recreation: outlook and trends.
2008 Recap It is now possible to say that the current consumer tolerance on gasoline prices in regard to travel behavior is around $4.00/gallon. The highest average gasoline prices ever recorded h . . .

Expanding health insurance coverage.
This is shaping up to be a year for significant changes to the American health care system. Congress has already enacted into law the reauthorization and expansion of the State Children's Health Ins . . .

Outlook for Montana agriculture.
General Financial Overview Montana's agricultural sector had an excellent year, producing an estimated $3.2 billion of sales in 2008 and an estimated $1 billion in net farm income. Nationally, far . . .

Montana's manufacturing industry.
After four successive years of growth, Montana manufacturers saw a decline in activity during 2008. Through the first half of the year, most of manufacturing actually saw growth, and declines were p . . .

Montana's forest products industry: current conditions and 2009 forecast.
[FIGURE 1 OMITTED] [FIGURE 2 OMITTED] 2008 Conditions During 2008, Montana's forest products industry was negatively impacted not only by a third weak year in the U.S. housing industry but by . . .

Guiding Montana through an economic storm: interview with Governor Brian Schweitzer.(Interview)(Cover story)
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] MBQ: The economy seems to have pushed everything else off the front page. What are your biggest concerns and what are the biggest sources of strength for the Montana economy . . .

Bailouts and meltdowns: what's ahead for Montana's economy?
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] High energy prices, mortgage foreclosures, bank failures, and the collapse of Wall Street have launched the U.S. economy into a state of chaos and confusion. Yes, much has h . . .

Feeling the credit crunch?
Recessions usually hit some states harder than others. Here in Montana, we have been lucky that both the current recession and the last two (in 2001-02 and 1990-91) have been milder than the nationa . . .

Montana's housing industry: home sales and new construction declines.
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The near meltdown of the housing finance industry has sent shock waves through the nation's economy. While Montana hasn't experienced the number of mortgage foreclosures or . . .

Fiscal impacts of an aging population in Montana.
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Introduction Montana will become much older in coming decades as the "Baby Boom" generation reaches traditional retirement age. Changing demographics will affect state and . . .

Indian entrepreneur helps build business environment on reservations.
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Bob Gauthicr's resume runs the gamut, from beer truck driver to tribal jailer to presidential appointee. While he may have taken an unusual path to success, his heritage, . . .

Forest industry expert retires.(Occupation overview)
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] When Chuck Keegan graduated with a master's degree in forestry from The University of Montana in 1977, the forest products industry was still the undisputed heavyweight of M . . .

Cutting the cord: households dropping land lines for cell phones.(Verizon Communications Inc.)
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The Current Trend Montana's landline telephone service providers are losing active lines at an annual rate of 2 to 7 percent, estimated Geoffrey Feiss, .general manager of . . .

Economic returns for investing in children's health.
Montana's uninsured rate for children is one of the highest in the country, with 14 to 16 percent of the state's children lacking private or public health insurance. Despite a strong state economy, . . .

Reclaiming American Indian maternal and infant health.
For the first six years of my life, Mother's thoughts were so largely centered upon me that she sacrificed even companionship with my father in order to give nee her full time. A weak or puny baby w . . .

Eco-entrepreneur tests fuel-saving products.
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] It's not traditional summer school, but Pete Deneault is going to spend the next few months performing complex business studies that could change the way Montanans look at f . . .

The new ice age: investing in a competitive, educated workforce.
"In the 21st century, the education and skills of the work force will end up being the dominant competitive weapon." --Lester Thurow, Montana native and MIT economist. Some Like It Hot In 2006 . . .

One shock, two shocks, three shocks. A recession?(Top 10 Economic Predictions for 2008 )(Statistical table)
The U.S. economy teeters on the brink of recession. The jitters started with the bursting of the house price bubble, which meant consumers could no longer fund their consumption expenditures using t . . .

The Montana economy zooms along.
Wheat selling at greater than $8/bushel turbocharged the crops sector of Montana agriculture during late 2007. Montana's economic base is now firing on almost all cylinders, and the state is complet . . .

Outlook and trends 2008: Montana travel and recreation.
[FIGURE 1 OMITTED] Trends in Review Montana's nonresident visitor numbers continue to grow at a steady rate (Figure 1). With few exceptions, the 10-year visitation trend has been growing about 2 . . .

Challenges ahead for health care finance.
For a decade and a half, the health care industry has seemed to be an exception to almost every economic trend. As the economy went into recession in 2001, health care kept growing. As labor shortag . . .

Outlook for Montana agriculture.(billion of sales in 2007)
General Financial Overview Montana's agricultural sector had an exceptional year, producing an estimated $2.6 to $2.9 billion of sales in 2007, while generating an estimated $750-800 million in ne . . .

Montana's manufacturing industry.
Montana's manufacturing industry had its fourth consecutive year of increased sales, employment, and worker earnings in 2007. Montana manufacturers had sales of approximately $8 billion in 2007 meas . . .

Montana's forest products industry: current conditions and 2008 forecast.
Operating Conditions A second weak year in the U.S. housing industry continued to negatively impact Montana's wood products industry during 2007. U.S. housing starts peaked in 2005. By the end of . . .

Substance abuse: Montana rates higher than national rates.
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Montana's young people are drinking alcohol, drinking and driving, using illegal drugs, and smoking and chewing tobacco at rates above the rest of the nation. Those substanc . . .

Sub-county population estimates: new methods needed for providing more accurate data.(Editorial)
Editor's note: In an attempt to provide annual population data between the decennial censuses, the U.S. Census Bureau developed the American Community Survey, an ongoing statistical survey that repl . . .

Montana manufacturing: bucking the national trend.
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Manufacturing in the United States in recent years has become a tale of decline and loss. "Americans don't make anything anymore," it's been said, as the economy has shifted . . .

Gated communities: gaining popularity across Montana.
In 1990, only 276 houses in Montana were worth $300,000 or more. But by 2000, that figure had climbed to 4,735, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. And that was the year the Census Bureau added a n . . .

Reservation revenues: uncovering economic contributions of Montana's American Indian tribes.(Cover story)
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Director's note: Montana's American Indian tribes have long been important components of the state's poetical and social landscape. Recently, the economic contributions of . . .

Wild fire suppression costs.
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The high cost of suppressing wildfires is taking a toll on federal and state agencies alike. Large wildland fires are complex, costly events influenced by a vast array of ph . . .

Selections, dispositions, and acquisitions: a brief history of Montana's land grants.
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Introduction Religion, politics, harvesting old growth timber, and selling public lands all have one thing in common--these topics all engender impassioned discussion and . . .

Whitefish entrepreneur launches Montana into radio's new age: big fish broadcasts local music, small town news over the World Wi
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] John Dunnigan is proud to say he is not a radio show host, which is hard for some people to understand. "People ask me what station my show is on. I say. 'it's not.' That . . .

Global warming: unexpected impacts on Montana's economy.(Cover story)
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Montana's summers will be longer and winters shorter. Fishing season will start earlier. We won't have to shovel driveways or snowplow the roads as often. Early spring blizz . . .

Montana's economy: all sectors contribute to recent growth.
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Montana's economic boom continues! The 2.3 percent unemployment rate recently released by the Montana Department of Labor and Industry is the latest data confirming this tre . . .

Digital divide: Montana's children face technological challenges.
Many children in America today have access to the Internet. But if a child live, s in a low-income, rural household, his or her chances of getting online are diminished, With 34 percent of Montana's . . .

Monitoring Montana through BEA data.(Bureau of Economic Analysis)
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Business people, government officials, and community development planners are but a few of Montana's leaders who must use accurate and current information to complete their . . .

Health care research: providing Montanans with data.
The nice thing about being a researcher is that your job is never done. In the case of health care policy research, you might be tempted to say that it has yet to be started. That's not a knock on t . . .

Rising Asia and Montana: becoming closer neighbors.(Rising Asia)(Statistical data)
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] In the context of world history the idea of a powerful and rising Asia is not new. A thousand years ago the emerging countries of today, including much of Asia, were more po . . .