Brookings Mountain West
Brookings Mountain West is a partnership between UNLV and the Washington, D.C.-based Brookings Institution. The purpose of Brookings Mountain West is to bring the Brookings tradition of high-quality, independent, and impactful research to the issues facing the dynamic and fast-growing Intermountain West region. Building upon work at Brookings and UNLV, our community engagement and research initiatives focus on helping metropolitan areas like Las Vegas grow in robust, inclusive, and sustainable ways. Brookings Mountain West provides a platform to bring ideas and expertise together to enhance public policy discussions at the local, state, and regional level.
Accomplishments
A collection of news stories and highlights featuring UNLV students and faculty.
Scholars bring their expertise in American politics, workforce development, financial regulation, federal assistance programs, college access, and community-based planning.
Brookings Mountain West In the News
In the fall of 2022, all eyes were on Nevada. As Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV) and her allies crisscrossed the state, she was flanked by reporters from national outlets narrowed in on the race they were convinced would decide the Senate. The New York Times called her “the most politically endangered Democrat incumbent.” FiveThirtyEight’s Nate Silver said Nevada could be Senate Republicans’ “ace in the hole” and ranked it as their best pickup opportunity.
Sam Brown, the retired U.S. Army captain, is polling as the front-runner to win the Nevada Republican primary in June for U.S. Senate. Fittingly, Brown grabbed a key endorsement last week from within his party when Gov. Joe Lombardo announced his support.
Nevada remains stuck at 5.3% unemployment despite job growth statistics that suggest there’s plenty of work out there. Why hasn’t the state’s unemployment rate returned to pre-pandemic levels, when it was around 3.6%? That was the lowest it had been since 1976, and it was roughly equal to the national average just before the COVID-19 lockdown four years ago.
Incorporated on May 1, 1946, the City of North Las Vegas (NLV) has a long history in southern Nevada. Since its beginnings, the city has established itself as an economic oasis in the region due to the area’s abundance of land, steady pipeline of available workers, pro-business environment and easy reach to western markets.