Michael Woods
Oklahoma State University
514 Ag Hall
Stillwater, OK 74078
(405) 744-9837, (405) 744-8210 fax

William Molnar
Clemson Institute for Economic & Community Development
P.O. Box 23205
Columbia, SC 29205
(803) 788-5700 ext. 25

Communities often experience significant changes in the local economic base. A first step in responding to change is understanding the magnitude of the change. Change can be represented by a new business moving to the community, increased tourism activity or in-migrating retirees.

Economic impact analysis offers an approach to quantify the impacts of these types of change on the local economy. Often local leaders may also desire to estimate the impacts of existing business or industry. For example, what are the economic impacts of local manufacturing firms or the local health care sectors? Again, impact assessment provides methodologies for measurement.

This session highlights a training workshop, sponsored by the Southern Rural Development Center, that offers an overview of economic impact analysis and highlight case studies. Specific topics addressed include economic analysis versus fiscal impact analysis; what is the multiplier; using impact analysis in Extension programming; measuring economic impacts of the health care sector; IMPLAN—a tool for analysis; and using IMPLAN for target industry analysis.

PowerPoint Presentation (PDF format, 703 kb)