IMPLAN Blog

America has had a long and sometimes troubled relationship with its energy sources—it’s not just your imagination. A lot is said nowadays about the rise in renewable energy and the downfall of traditional fossil fuels. But when it comes to making the switch to solar or other renewable energy sources, the United States might be torn between two lovers. But don’t give up on us—despite the storied history, there’s still a lot of road ahead.

Recently I sat down with IMPLAN economist, James Squibb, to discuss his recent paper acceptance at the upcoming International Input-Output Association (IIOA) conference in Brazil this June. This paper, an extension of Incorporating Port-Level Foreign Trade Data into IMPLAN’s Gravity Model to Estimate Region-Specific Foreign Trade Rates published in 2017 by James and Jennifer Thorvaldson, attempts to validate the reliability of the new gravity model updates. Here is what I learned.

There’s a saying in the office here at IMPLAN that goes something like “our clients are often way more creative than we are at finding ways to use the software.” That’s never been more true of the Rand corporation in their collaboration with the Louisiana State University in their joint 2-year research project “Economic Evaluation of Coastal Land Loss in Louisiana” which was commissioned by Louisiana’s Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority in December of 2015.

Mistakes, we all make them. What if I told you that I could help you not make them? You’d probably be pretty happy, right? IMPLAN is a very useful tool and is easy to use when you know what all the terminology means. Luckily for you, IMPLAN offers a help desk where previous customers have probably asked the same questions that you may have. If not, it also allows you to post any questions and get a response. But in the interest of ease, here are a few of the common issues that IMPLAN users face and how to address them:

In the spirit of Tax Season ending this week, and the new tax year ahead, let’s revisit the topic of the New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) Program. Across the country, low income communities lack much needed investment, funding, and care as is apparent by the state of disrepair many of them have fallen into. Enter the New Markets Tax Credit Program. As stated by the Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI Fund’s) website, “the New Markets Tax Credit Program (NMTC Program) aims to break [the] cycle of disinvestment” in low income communities “by attracting the private investment necessary to reinvigorate struggling local economies”. The NMTC Program is jointly administered by the CDFI Fund and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). While many communities and initiatives attempt to secure this elusive funding, only few are granted it due to the rigorous process that must be undergone to qualify.

Understanding the importance of Economic Impact Analysis for Project Feasibility

We all know what happens when plans go awry. Money is lost, people lose their jobs, and buildings are abandoned mid-construction. One of the most common examples of poor planning is the Death Star. That’s right, the Death Star. From the famous Star Wars original trilogy, the Death Star conveys the idea of economic poor planning in matters of cost and execution. According to the Washington Post in January 2013, a petition reached the White House to build the Death Star. The White House of course denied the petition as it would be morally irresponsible to build a giant super weapon that could destroy worlds, and that its cost would be astronomically high (about 850 quadrillion dollars—that’s 850 with 15 zeros behind it).

1. Intro

In recent years, there has been growing interest in using multiregional social accounting matrix (SAM) models. These models require reliable estimates of inter-regional trade. Because detailed data on the commodity-specific trade between counties are not available, several estimation techniques have been used.

There’s never an easy path to affecting policy change whether we’re talking on the national, state, or local level. But among the tools available to give clarity to the conversation, economic contribution and economic impact analyses rank among the most widely used.

Funding. It’s a word that strikes fear in public and private institutions alike. An almost sisyphean task that repeats on daily, monthly, annual cycles without end. It echos on the radio, online, in emails from museums, charities, and alma maters. And in the end, how do you know if the chase for funding had the desired, tangible effect?