Utah’s economy is doing consistently better than most states despite the recent national economic slowdown.

An article published in the Oct. 23 edition of The Economist attributed Utah’s unusual economic success to another one of Utah’s features - its large LDS population. The article entitled, “The Mormon work ethic,” says Utah is looking “unusually healthy” compared with its neighbors and says the “cultural thing,” otherwise known as Mormonism, helps in several ways.

Some BYU economics majors responded to the article, shedding more light on the subject.

Brian Spencer, 23, a junior from Sandy, said even though it’s difficult to explain economic performance based on morality arguments, some LDS teachings “have proven to have an effect on the economy.”

Spencer said Utah’s success “could be coupled with the almost zealous nature in living our religion that LDS members tend to exhibit.”

The LDS emphasis on education is another factor that helps Utah’s economy, Spencer said.

“Having more skilled workers in the labor force is always healthy,” he said.

BYU’s Economics Department chair, Dr. Michael Ransom, said the large family size of most LDS church members “creates problems for public school funding,” highlighting another obstacle Utah over-comes.

“The burden of state and local taxes is relatively high in Utah,” Ransom said. “On the other hand, teachings of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints place a strong emphasis on education, so students do relatively well given things like high pupil-teacher ratios and relatively low teacher salaries.”

The Milken Institute, an economic think tank, declared Provo-Orem the “Best-Performing City” of 2008 and said the area has “benefited from increased research and associated spin-off activity at Brigham Young University.”

They also said the quality of jobs being created in the Provo-Orem area is high and job growth “has led to high rates of migration to the area, spurring housing and non-residential construction building activity.”

According to the Economist, Utah’s unemployment rate in October was 3.5 percent - less than half of California’s, and Utah’s foreclosure rate is also lower than the national average.

The Economist attributes part of the low unemployment rate to a low population of teenagers and “lots of productive people in their late twenties and early thirties.”

Spencer disagrees with that assumption and says, “Utah has significantly more children, so I do not necessarily feel that there are less teenagers in Utah.”

Some BYU students attributed Utah’s economic success to the church’s teaching of “living with your means.”

“I think that it is by far the conservative nature of LDS doctrine,” said Jim Ogilvie, a junior from Cottonwood Heights. “Moderation in all things. That includes being fiscally responsible.”

However, Ogilvie also said he was surprised by the assumption that Utah’s economy is successful because of the LDS population.

“I really don’t think that the demography of LDS church members plays a significant role in the state’s economy,” he said.

Tyson Hafen, 23, a senior from St. George, did an internship earlier this year with the speaker of the house of the Utah State Legislature, David Clark. Hafen said he was “able to witness firsthand how important a role the values of the church play in our state’s economy.”

Hafen said the majority of the state legislator were members of the church and many of them practiced the principle of living within their means.

“It is for this reason that there is always a balanced budget in Utah, and usually a surplus,” Hafen said. “We are one of the few states in the country that actually has surpluses and a substantial ‘rainy day’ fund, something that once again correlates with church leaders' emphasis on living within our means and being prepared for hard times.”

Based on a report card of state governments released in 2008, Utah is “the best-managed state in the country” and was given an “A minus” by the Pew Center on States Government Performance Project for 2008.

Hafen says other parts of the LDS religion that contribute to Utah’s economy include “values of honesty, hardwork, integrity and of course church leaders’ emphasis on obtaining a higher education.”

Hafen also said he personally learned these concepts on his mission for the church and said, “The MTC drills into missionaries these important principles.”

Hafen said he learned on his mission “how important planning ahead and being prepared is in order to be successful,” and said he believes “the high percentage of returned missionaries working in Utah certainly has an effect on the efficiency of local businesses and the strength of the economy in general in Utah.”

The Economist says another factor of Utah’s success is that Mormons are “inclined to stay put in the promised land rather than pursue better-paying jobs elsewhere.”

Jim Ogilvie agreed with this theory and said, “There are a lot of members who could easily go other places for higher paying jobs, but choose instead to stay here.”

Brian Spencer said, “The LDS church encourages members to be self sufficient, and if that is not possible, to go to their family, then to the church.”

This self-sufficiency, Spencer said, “creates a system to get help if it is needed.”

Spencer said IRS reports show Utah consistently rating as one of the most charitable states in proportion to their income.

“Being taught to be charitable also affects the well-being of Utah,” Spencer said. “As you give unto others, you get back so much more.”

Ransom said the teachings of the church “emphasize honesty and hard work” as well as encourage thrift. He went on to say, “These teachings are common in other religions as well.”

Dr. Ransom said the “empirical question” is not whether parts of the LDS religion contribute to Utah’s economy, but instead whether The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints “does a better job of getting their members to live what they are taught.”

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Copyright Brigham Young University 7 Jan 2009