The economic impact of the Department of Energy on the state of New Mexico fiscal year 1997

The US Department of Energy (DOE) provides a major source of economic benefits in New Mexico. The agency`s far-reaching economic influence within the state is the focus of this report. Economic benefits arising from the various activities and functions of both DOE and its contractors have accrued to the state continuously for over 50 years. For several years, DOE/Albuquerque Operations Office (AL) and New Mexico State University (NMSU) have maintained inter-industry, input-output modeling capabilities to assess DOE`s impacts on the state of New Mexico and the other substate regions most directly impacted by DOE activities. One of the major uses of input-output techniques is to assess the effects of developments initiated outside the economy such as federal DOE monies that flow into the state, on an economy. The information on which the models are based is updated periodically to ensure the most accurate depiction possible of the economy for the period of reference. For this report, the reference periods are Fiscal Year (FY) 1996 and FY 1997. Total impacts represents both direct and indirect impacts (respending by business), including induced (respending by households) effects. The standard multipliers used in determining impacts result from the inter-industry, input-output models uniquely developed for New Mexico. This report includes seven main sections: (1) introduction; (2) profile of DOE activities in New Mexico; (3) DOE expenditure patterns; (4) measuring DOE/New Mexico`s economic impact; (5) technology transfer within the federal labs funded by DOE/New Mexico; (6) glossary of terms; and (7) technical appendix containing a description of the model. 9 figs., 19 tabs