Jim Rounds
President
Jim Rounds is President of Rounds Consulting Group. The firm specializes in economic development and tax policy analysis; education research; healthcare economics; transportation economics; fiscal planning including revenue forecasting and budget development; strategic planning and marketing; environmental economics; impact and market studies; tourism analysis, and litigation support. Mr. Rounds regularly provides advice to policymakers at the Arizona State Capitol, to mayors throughout the state as well as city council members, county board members, and other public and private sector leaders in the community. He has delivered hundreds of economic presentations throughout Arizona and is quoted weekly on television, radio, and in printed media.
Jim has provided economic guidance to policy leaders across the country on matters of real estate, tourism, economic planning, fiscal planning, criminal justice reform, education policy, and economic impact modeling. The advising also includes designing efficient tax credit programs, setting competitive tax rates, and analyzing the associated dynamic benefits and costs from changes in public policy. In 2020, Jim introduced the concept of designing public policy based on generating a positive Return on Investment (ROI) for state taxpayers. This new approach has been embraced by a large number of lawmakers across the state and has been used at the state and local levels of government.
Mr. Rounds enjoys participation among multiple organizations and well as using proper analysis and communication to bridge political gaps. For example, Jim is a Senior Fellow at the Goldwater Institute; the President of the Maricopa County IDA, board member at Valley Partnership and the Arizona Small Business Association; and advisor to education focused groups including the Arizona Board of Regents and the various state universities, among others. Jim has also been the lead economist for multiple rural and urban area healthcare policy efforts. Jim has also been supporting the concept of “growing from within,” which includes efforts to better understand small business development issues and strategic investment in education and workforce training. Jim is a lead member of the Joint Legislative Budget Committee’s Finance Advisory Committee, and has served on scores of committees and task force efforts at both the state and local levels.
Mr. Rounds began his career as a Senior Economist and Senior Budget Analyst with the Arizona Joint Legislative Budget Committee, and has been engaged in policy related economics for more than two decades. Jim has a Bachelor of Science degree and a Master of Science degree in Economics from Arizona State University.