IMPLAN Blog

The Value of Storytelling in Business

If you have kids or if you ever were a child (so everyone), you inherently understand the value of storytelling. Storytelling has been used as a very effective learning device for years. From teaching children social and language skills to formal education for adults, storytelling is used as a means to communicate all ranges of ideas.

Newsprint, unlike your average algebra quiz, leaves little room for showing your work. But that doesn’t mean that you have to give partial credit to every large sum that’s inked across page A1. Fortunately, there are a few easy tricks you can rely on to suss whether those impressive economic numbers are fact or fake news.

I’m sure you’ve heard the cliche “it’s too good to be true?” Well, hosting the FIFA World Cup is too good to be true.

There are nearly as many different types of jobs as there are menu items on Starbucks' ever-changing menu. Naturally, counting them all up into one unified number in the results of an impact analysis grossly under-represents the diversity and dynamism of any given region’s workforce. But it’s possible to look at the unique job taxonomy of a region while still appreciating the big picture. Here are a few key job-related details to consider when interpreting employment impacts:

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:

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?