Household, business, and government spending and investment can have significant impacts on the economy. These impacts include not only the direct effect of spending and investment, but also secondary effects—frequently referred to as ripple or multiplier effects. It is important for decision makers in the public and private sectors to understand the scope and magnitude of these effects when formulating policies, proposing projects, or preparing economic development plans. Meister Economic Consulting has extensive experience identifying and measuring such effects through economic impact analysis.

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Meister Economic Consulting uses economic impact analysis to estimate the effects of projects, businesses, institutions, industries, events, and public policies on economies at all levels—national, state, regional, and local. We identify and measure the net impact of changes in economic activity, as well as the overall contribution of economic activity to an economy. We analyze the impact of one- time capital investments or construction projects, as well as the annual, ongoing operational impacts of projects.

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Our experts assist clients with communicating the findings of our economic impact analyses—we produce reports that our clients can disseminate to stakeholders, policymakers, the media, and the general public; and we provide testimony before governing bodies and regulators.

 

Meister Economic Consulting draws on extensive training and experience to develop economic impact analyses. We customize our economic impact models to meet the needs of each project and to take into account the unique characteristics of the geographic area and economic activity being studied. Our economic impact studies are rooted in economic theory and use state-of-the-art software. In conducting studies, we start by modeling the relevant economy and economic activity. We then use economic impact analysis to capture the secondary effects that result from the initial economic activity. Because our studies capture the economic dependencies between households, industries, and governments, we can identify segments of an economy that stand to be most affected by the initial economic activity. In our analyses, we assess the economic value of a particular activity to a community, businesses, and the government through several key measures of impact:

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• Output (i.e., value of sales)

• Jobs

• Wages

• Taxes

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Economic impact analysis can be used to quantify the effects of a wide variety of entities, activities, and policies, including the following:

Projects, businesses, and institutions:

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• Airports and ports

• Amusement parks and zoos

• Casinos

• Convention centers

• Educational institutions

• Energy projects

• General capital investments

• Health care research and facilities

• Hotels and resorts

• Industrial parks

• Manufacturing facilities

• Military bases

• Museums

• Performing arts and cultural venues

• Retail and mixed-use real estate developments

• Stadiums

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Events:

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• Opening, expansion, and closure of businesses and industries

• Entertainment events

• Sporting events

• Trade shows and conferences

 

Public policies:

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• Ballot initiatives

• City revitalization projects

• Economic development projects

• Enterprise zones

• Federal and state grants

• Government operations and programs

• Investments in commercial enterprises under the EB-5 program

• Legislation

• Publicly funded projects

• Regulation

• Taxation

• Transportation systems and infrastructure