Gary Mallon and his colleagues at Greater Spokane Incorporated focus their economic development and chamber of commerce efforts not just in Spokane and Eastern Washington but also throughout a extended region that includes North Idaho. When it comes to searching through the diverse area for available, highly-trained workers—a “core asset” to the region, according to [...]

When a major Wisconsin manufacturer considered relocating to Oklahoma, local and state economic development professionals put on a full-court press to convince the company to stay. The results were overwhelmingly positive, offering a vibrant example of a successful business retention effort.

PDF of the case study: Mercury Marine retention effort
Nearly 1,900 Fond du Lac jobs at [...]

As the current recession continues, business incubators and accelerators have become increasingly important in helping communities and regions stabilize and even strengthen their economies. A textbook example comes from Spartanburg Community College in South Carolina, where a new accelerator has already had a major effect on its area. 
For a PDF of the case study click [...]

In an attempt to generate new jobs and increase public revenues for their airport, leaders in Dayton, Ohio, and surrounding townships are looking to develop 600 acres around the city-owned airport for economic development purposes. An initial step in enhancing the area was conducting a data-driven analysis to determine which industries to target based on [...]

Working in major population centers such as Los Angeles to more isolated areas like Montana and North Dakota, Praxis Strategy Group helps a wide spectrum of clients craft and implement community initiatives and business ventures. Part of PSG’s analysis includes looking at detailed data from EMSI that is not constrained by typical geographical boundaries.
PSG is [...]

With the recent closing of a major GM plant and the shuttering/downsizing of other companies, few areas have felt the impact of the recession more than southwest Wisconsin. To respond, local planners are using labor market data and regional partnerships to help the area gradually recover.
For a PDF of the case study click here
More than [...]

Since the 1970s, former industrial sites in Rome, NY, have deteriorated, leaving behind abandoned buildings after the closure of companies like General Cable Corporation. City leaders, the Environmental Protection Agency, and other organizations have started to clean up the plots of land and use them for redevelopment purposes.
To read the case study in PDF format: [...]

April, 2009

By: M. Henry Robison, Founder and Senior Economist, EMSI
contact information: Rob Sentz (rob@economicmodeling.com)
For a PDF version of the paper: IO guidebook
Introduction
Our nation’s economic woes have led to many ideas for the best way to transform our economy and get it back on track. Many of these ideas are rooted in “Keynesian” economic theory, [...]

To read Section V, click here
Introduction
Before you begin to conduct input-output analysis it is important to establish “boundaries” that in some sense reflect functioning economic regions.  Though at first the concept of “region” or “community” might seem obvious, defining one for economic modeling purposes is not always so easy. This section will therefore serve as [...]

To read Section IV, click here
Introduction
Input-output has not been used to its maximum potential in economic development. Often it is merely a political tool that helps to justify incentives for recruiting and retaining specific companies in a region. By running impact scenarios and estimating multipliers, an IO model will tell you approximately how much one [...]