Economic impact analysis
Economic impact analysis is a quantitative method for evaluating the effects of an economic event, project, or policy on a regional economy, measuring changes in output, employment, income, and related indicators by accounting for direct expenditures, indirect supply chain effects, and induced consumer spending.[1][2] It relies on input-output models to derive multipliers that capture intersectoral linkages and estimate total economic activity generated from an initial injection of spending.[3][4] These tools, such as RIMS II from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis or software like IMPLAN, enable simulations of scenarios ranging from infrastructure developments to industry expansions, informing decisions in public policy and private investment.[3][1] While valuable for tracing causal chains of economic activity, the approach has drawn scrutiny for common misapplications, including overreliance on gross impacts without netting out opportunity costs or displacement effects, which can exaggerate benefits in advocacy-driven studies for subsidies or events like sports facilities.[5][6] Critics emphasize the need for rigorous assumptions about leakages—spending that exits the local economy—and baseline comparisons to ensure estimates reflect genuine net contributions rather than mere reallocations.[5][4]