This update of a previous report provides findings on economic activity supported by total Army spending in congressional districts for fiscal years 2014 through 2017. Using input/output models, researchers estimated that the Army directly spent approximately $80.1 million in the median congressional district and $1.3 billion in the median state in fiscal year 2017, translating into approximately 3,800 jobs per district and 48,000 jobs per state.

The Army's Local Economic Effects

2nd Edition

Christopher M. Schnaubelt, Craig A. Bond, Cole Sutera, Anthony Lawrence, Judith D. Mele, Joshua Mendelsohn, Christina Panis, Meagan L. Smith

ResearchPublished Mar 8, 2021

This report updates a previous report with findings on the economic activity supported by total Army spending in each of the 435 congressional districts in fiscal years 2014 through 2017. To estimate this activity, researchers used district-level input-output (I/O) models and a national-level I/O model known as IMPLAN. Each district-level model is used to estimate the direct, indirect, and induced effects of national-level Army spending that affect a particular district. In this context, direct effects are the total Army spending within a district; indirect and induced effects represent the local economic activity that supports both the direct spending and the in-district demand generated from Army spending outside the district. Indirect effects capture interindustry linkages, while induced effects capture the effects of household incomes.

For each congressional district, this report provides the following estimates:

  • direct Army spending (including military and government civilian payroll and retiree pay for Regular Army, Army National Guard, and U.S. Army Reserve, plus acquisition and services contracts)
  • all Army employment (including military and government civilian personnel for Regular Army, Army National Guard, and U.S. Army Reserve, including soldiers not on active duty)
  • additional economic output generated by direct Army spending
  • additional jobs created by direct Army spending
  • Army-driven economic output (direct plus indirect and induced spending)
  • all Army employment plus estimated additional jobs resulting from total Army direct spending and indirect effects.

Results are aggregated by state and the economic activity associated with Army spending is separated by component where applicable.

Key Findings

Median Army spending per congressional district is $80.1 million

  • In fiscal year 2017, the Army directly spent approximately $80.1 million in the median district and $1.3 billion in the median state, with considerable variance across the local economies.
  • This direct spending and the intermediate demands generated by out-of-district and out-of-state spending contributed a total of $291.9 million of economic output to the median district and $5.1 billion to the median state.
  • Measured in terms of employment, this translates into about 3,800 jobs for the median district and more than 48,000 for the median state, with a wide range across economies.
  • The report provides results that are broken down by congressional district, as well as aggregated by state, and the economic activity associated with this spending is separated by Army component where applicable.

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Document Details

  • Copyright: RAND Corporation
  • Availability: Available
  • Year: 2021
  • Print Format: Paperback
  • Paperback Pages: 58
  • Paperback Price: $19.00
  • Paperback ISBN/EAN: 978-1-9774-0301-8
  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.7249/RR1119-1
  • Document Number: RR-1119-1-A

Citation

RAND Style Manual
Schnaubelt, Christopher M., Craig A. Bond, Cole Sutera, Anthony Lawrence, Judith D. Mele, Joshua Mendelsohn, Christina Panis, and Meagan L. Smith, The Army's Local Economic Effects: 2nd Edition, RAND Corporation, RR-1119-1-A, 2021. As of October 8, 2024: https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RR1119-1.html
Chicago Manual of Style
Schnaubelt, Christopher M., Craig A. Bond, Cole Sutera, Anthony Lawrence, Judith D. Mele, Joshua Mendelsohn, Christina Panis, and Meagan L. Smith, The Army's Local Economic Effects: 2nd Edition. Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corporation, 2021. https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RR1119-1.html. Also available in print form.
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This research was sponsored by the sponsored by the Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff, G-8, U.S. Army and conducted within the Strategy and Resources Program, a part of the RAND Arroyo Center.

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