• Over the past few years, the firm has completed several analyses for the State of Colorado. In addition to two audits of health care programs operated by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment and the Department of Health Care Policy and Financing, we have also completed four economic research projects on behalf of the State of Colorado, two for the Office of the State Auditor, and two for the Legislative Council.
• The first State project involved an analysis of the impact of Amendment 23 to the Colorado Constitution, which created an education fund from a portion of tax revenues and mandated minimum spending levels the state legislature must provide for public education in Colorado. The end result of the project was the development of a comprehensive model, which allows legislators to evaluate the impact of future funding and spending scenarios on the longevity of the fund. This project required Pacey Economics Group personnel to work closely with members of various government departments including Legislative Council Staff, Office of the State Planning and Budgeting, Colorado Department of Education, Department of Treasury, etc. and to present their findings to the Legislative Audit Committee and the Joint Budget Committee. The second project included an analysis and review of the Colorado Lottery's revenue forecasting methods, the development of an econometric forecasting model, as well as a review of the budgeting and grant process of Great Outdoors Colorado (GOCO.)
• The third and fourth State projects are Cost of Living Studies prepared for the Legislative Council. A cost of living study is mandated by law to be completed every other year and is a component of the school funding formula. The project involved determining appropriate products and sampling techniques, collecting price data for every school district (178 districts) in Colorado, organizing the results of the survey incorporating shopping pattern habits, and estimating the annual cost of living for each district as well as computing various statistical measures to confirm the validity of the study. Pacey Economics Group first completed this project in the fall of 2001 and was awarded the project again in 2003.
• Recently, Pacey Economics Group provided economic loss analyses that were utilized during hearings for the Special Victims’ Fund for the victims of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. These loss analyses were structured per guidelines from the Special Master but were tailored for the specific circumstances of each individual.
• Pacey Economics Group also has a long-standing involvement on sports economic issues. Studies have included empirical analyses of sports participation, the economic impact on a university and community as a result of college football games, the financial analysis of Division I athletic programs, the quantification of television ratings and the relation of such ratings to game characteristics among others. Also, Pacey Economics Group has investigated the issues surrounding the federal legislation commonly known as Title IX. In so doing, Pacey Economics Group has compared participation rates in various activities including varsity and intramural athletics as well as scholarship awards to determine, not only if comparable opportunities are being provided to both male and female college students, but also if the opportunities that are provided are meeting the demand for those activities by the respective gender.
• Pacey Economics Group has prepared statistical and econometric analyses to quantify the influence of real estate characteristics and contamination concerns on housing prices and/or commercial properties.
• The firm has also been retained regularly to evaluate the competitive effects of rate-making decision or other proposed regulatory matters in the telecommunication industry.
• Pacey Economics Group completed a project related to the taxicab market in the Denver area that was presented to the Public Utilities Commission. In this matter, a private taxicab company was requesting an increase in their allotted taxicab permits while their competitors indicated that the market did not require additional cab permits. The purpose of this project was to analyze the present structure of the Denver metro taxicab market with respect to the legislative intent to create a regulated competitive environment. Pacey Economics Group reviewed the relevant historical data including population, income, tourism, and other macroeconomic statistics to demonstrate trends in the local market. To complete the analysis, Pacey Economics Group reviewed specific data regarding the taxicab industry in the Denver metropolitan area available from the Public Utilities Commission, including ridership statistics, plus industry specific statistics such as company performance and financial data, drivers lease fees, etc.

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