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If you’ve spent any time in the academic or policy circles around Denver, you’ve likely heard the name Laura Argys. She isn't just another economics professor tucked away in a quiet office at the University of Colorado Denver. She is actually a massive bridge between raw, high-stakes federal data and the real-world policies that affect how we live, work, and raise kids in the Rocky Mountain region.
Specifically, her role with the Rocky Mountain Research Data Center (RMRDC)—which many people simply refer to as the Denver RDC connection—is where the real magic happens.
Most people don't realize that some of the most important data in the country is essentially under lock and key. We're talking about restricted-use microdata from the U.S. Census Bureau, the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS), and the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). You can't just download this stuff from a website. To get to it, you need a secure facility, a background check, and a leader who knows how to navigate the federal bureaucracy.
That leader is Laura Argys.
What the Denver RDC Connection Actually Does
Basically, the RMRDC is a secure lab. It’s physically located at the Institute of Behavioral Science at CU Boulder, but it serves a huge consortium that includes CU Denver, CSU, and several other big players. As the Executive Director, Argys is the one making sure researchers at CU Denver and beyond can actually use these restricted datasets to answer questions that "public" data just can't handle.
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Why does this matter to a regular person?
Well, think about it this way. Publicly available census data is often "blurred" or aggregated to protect privacy. If you want to study exactly how a specific local health policy impacted a specific demographic over ten years, you need the granular, "restricted" version.
Argys has spent decades using this kind of data to look at things like:
- How child support policies actually affect a father's involvement.
- The real impact of foster care incentives on child placement.
- Why adolescents engage in risky behaviors based on their peer groups.
She isn't just theorizing. She's looking at the hard numbers that most people never see.
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Why Laura Argys is the Go-To Expert
Honestly, it’s her dual role that makes her so effective. On one hand, she’s the Associate Dean for Research and Creative Activities at CU Denver’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. On the other, she’s a powerhouse labor economist.
She has this way of looking at "human capital"—which is just a fancy way of saying "what people are worth to the economy"—and breaking it down into family units. Her work with H. Elizabeth Peters and Daniel I. Rees is legendary in the field. They’ve tackled everything from the "death row" execution probabilities to how birth order affects whether you’ll be a rebel in high school.
If you're a researcher trying to get a project off the ground at the Denver RDC, you're likely going to interact with her or her team. They help you take a raw idea and turn it into a "Census-approved" proposal. It’s a grueling process. It involves getting Special Sworn Status (SSS), which is basically a federal security clearance.
The Reality of Restricted Data Research
It’s not all just sitting at a computer.
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The security is intense. You can't take your phone in. You can't take notes out. Every single output you want to publish has to go through a "disclosure review" to make sure no individual person or business can be identified.
Laura Argys has been the face of this for years because she understands both the technical side (the econometrics) and the administrative side (the federal rules). She’s been at CU Denver for over 30 years. She’s seen the department grow, and she’s seen how data-driven policy has moved from a niche interest to the gold standard of governance.
Actionable Steps for Researchers and Policy Wonks
If you’re looking to leverage the resources Laura Argys manages at the Denver RDC, you can't just wing it. Here is the actual path most people take:
- Define a specific question: The Census Bureau won't let you in just to "explore." You need a hypothesis that requires restricted data.
- Check the data availability: Look through the Federal Statistical Research Data Centers catalogs to see if the variables you need even exist in the restricted sets.
- Reach out to the team: Before writing a 50-page proposal, most people email the RMRDC administrator (currently Catherine Talbot) or connect with Argys to see if the project is even feasible.
- Secure Funding: Using the RDC isn't free unless your institution is part of the consortium. Luckily, if you're at CU Denver, you're covered.
- Prepare for the Long Game: The approval process for these projects can take 6 to 12 months. It’s a marathon, not a sprint.
Whether she's teaching "Economics of Sex and Drugs" or managing the RMRDC's strategic direction, Argys is a reminder that the best research isn't done in a vacuum. It’s done by people who are willing to do the heavy lifting of data security and academic rigor to find out what's actually happening in our society.
For anyone serious about Colorado-based economic or social research, knowing your way around the RDC is basically mandatory. And that means knowing the work of Laura Argys.
Actionable Insight: If you are a graduate student or faculty member at a consortium institution, you have "free" access to the physical lab and the RMRDC's consulting services. Your first step should be attending one of their informational workshops or reaching out to discuss a preliminary proposal draft before the next federal submission cycle.