Productivity and Prosperity

Benefits From Improving Educational Attainment in Arizona


Dennis Hoffman, Ph.D.
Director, Office of the University Economist; Director, Center for Competitiveness and Prosperity Research; Professor of Economics
Tom Rex, M.B.A.
Associate Director, Center for Competitiveness and Prosperity Research; Manager of Research Initiatives, Office of the University Economist

Discusses the individual and community benefits associated with educational attainment and reviews the educational attainment of Arizonans. Individuals benefit greatly from increasing their educational attainment, even after netting out the costs of education; those with more attainment earn more, pay more in taxes, and use public services to a lesser extent.  


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Dennis Hoffman, Ph.D.
Dennis Hoffman, Ph.D.
Director, Office of the University Economist; Director, Center for Competitiveness and Prosperity Research; Professor of Economics

Dennis received a B.A. in economics and mathematics from Grand Valley State University, a M.S. in economics from Michigan State University, and a Ph.D. in economics from Michigan State University in 1978. He has served on the faculty of the Department of Economics at ASU since 1979, as director of ASU’s L. William Seidman Research Institute (2004-24), and as the director of the Office of the University Economist since 2005.

Tom Rex, M.B.A.
Tom Rex, M.B.A.
Associate Director, Center for Competitiveness and Prosperity Research; Manager of Research Initiatives, Office of the University Economist

After receiving his Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of Toledo, Tom earned his Master of Business Administration from Arizona State University in 1976. After working in the private sector, he joined ASU in 1980, working for the predecessor of the L. William Seidman Research Institute. Since 2005, he has served as manager of research initiatives in the Office of the University Economist.


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