INTRODUCTION
IMPLAN's annual datasets provide a complete set of balanced Social Accounting Matrices (SAMs) for every zip code, county, and state in the U.S, as well as for the U.S. Territories Puerto Rico and U.S. Virgin Islands, Congressional Districts, and Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSA). These SAMs provide a complete picture of the specified regional economy.
To generate regional SAMs, IMPLAN collects the most recent economic data at various regional resolutions, completes and compiles it into a common framework (IMPLAN Industry Schemes), and constructs regional estimates of economic activity such that zip code level data add up to county totals, county totals add up to state totals, and state totals add up to national totals. The more granular the geographic level, the fewer raw data elements available and the more estimation required to build a complete SAM for the Region.
REGION-SPECIFIC STUDY AREA DATA
In addition to the wealth of data contained in the SAM, there are a number of additional data components available in IMPLAN to describe the local Region and its relationship with other Regions. This data is available once an IMPLAN model has been built. In other words, an Economic Impact Analysis is not required for access to this data. This article provides some examples of the available data in IMPLAN that helps to describe the economy of a local Region. Some examples of the available data are provided below (this is not an exhaustive list of all available data).
MODEL OVERVIEW DATA
Population: The number of residents in the Region.
Households: The number of households in the Region.
Land Area: The square miles of land area in the Region, net of large bodies of water.
Total Value Added and Total Final Demand: Two ways of measuring the same value, which is analogous to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for the Region.
INDUSTRY-SPECIFIC DATA
The number of Industries for which data is available is based on the current IMPLAN Industry Scheme. For every Industry in the Region, the following data is available.
Output: The value of Industry production in producer prices. For Industries for which there is Inventory, this value includes net inventory change. More information at Understanding Output.
Employment: Annual average full-time/part-time/seasonal jobs. This includes both wage and salary workers and proprietors. More information at Employment in IMPLAN.
Value Added: Value Added consists of Employee Compensation (EC), Proprietor Income (PI), Other Property Income (OPI), and Taxes on Production and Imports net of subsidies (TOPI). More information at Understanding Value Added.
- Employee Compensation: EC includes wage and salary compensation, supplements to wages and salaries, and both employee-and employer-paid social insurance taxes.
- Proprietor Income: PI represents the current-production income of sole proprietorships, partnerships, and tax-exempt cooperatives.
- Other Property Income: OPI consists of corporate profits, rent, interest, and capital consumption allowance.
- Taxes on Production and Imports Net of Subsidies: This includes sales and excise taxes, customs duties, property taxes, motor vehicle licenses, severance taxes, other taxes, and special assessments. These payments are net of subsidy payments by Government.
IMPLAN also provides regionalized Industry Spending Patterns. Specifically, IMPLAN provides a regional:
Industry Spending Pattern: Each Industry's purchase of Intermediate Inputs in coefficient form, reflecting either percentages of Intermediate Input purchases (within an Industry Event), or percentages of Output (Gross Absorption in Region Details). When a sub-national model is constructed, these national coefficients are adjusted to match local area Value Added data. Read more about this in Intermediate Input Data.
Additional Industry data is available in the Social Account Reports and Industry Account Reports. This includes information about the Commodities produced in the Region (supply), the local demand for each Commodity, and the proportion of local demand that is met by local supply by Industry, known as Regional Purchase Coefficients (RPCs). Read more about this in Understanding IMPLAN Social Accounts.
INSTITUTION-SPECIFIC DATA
Institutions consume goods and services for final demand, which drives the economy. Institutions in IMPLAN include Households, Government, and Additional Final Demand (which includes Inventory, Capital, and Private Enterprises). Institutions can also produce or sell Commodities.
For every Institution in the region, Institutional Commodity Demand and Institution Commodity Production is available in the Social Account Reports and Industry Account Reports. This includes information about the total demand in the Region by Institution, but also the local demand met by local production by Institution and Commodity. It also includes Output that is produced and/or sold by Institutions, for example goods or services that are produced or sold by Government or taken out of Inventory. Read more about Institutional Commodity Demand and Production in Understanding IMPLAN Social Accounts.
Finally, there is information about payments to Institutions from Industries as part of the production process as well transfers or payments between Institutions. This data is an extension to the traditional I-O accounts and makes it possible to create the various forms of the Type SAM Multiplier. Read more about this in Elements of IMPLAN SAM Tables.
TRADE FLOWS
Estimates of the foreign and domestic trade of goods and services by Region are necessary for estimating local purchasing behavior - a critical component of impact analysis, identifying market opportunities, and other uses. IMPLAN’s domestic Trade Flow data allow for Multi-Regional I-O (MRIO) analysis. Note that domestic Trade Flow data is available in IMPLAN Data Library. Read more about this in Trade Flows in IMPLAN.
SATELLITE ACCOUNTS
Over the years, IMPLAN has developed additional satellite accounts to help describe regional geographies and economies. These include IMPLAN’s Enhanced Demographic Data, Occupation and Core Competency Data, and Environmental Data.
ENHANCED DEMOGRAPHIC DATA
Starting in the 2020 IMPLAN Data Year, IMPLAN also provides enhanced demographic data for states, counties, and zip codes. It consists of detailed demographic information for the Region including population estimates by age, sex, race, ethnicity, language spoken at home, and educational attainment. It also includes estimates on housing occupancy and vacancy, labor force participation rates, and unemployment rates. Enhanced demographic data does not exist for the U.S. Territories due to lack of available raw data. Read Using Enhanced Demographic Data for more information.
OCCUPATION AND CORE COMPETENCY DATA
IMPLAN also provides occupation by Industry data for all U.S.-based models. This data shows estimates of occupational employment, wages, hours, and core competencies (knowledge, skill, abilities, education, work experience, and on-the-job training levels) for each of the 800+ distinct occupations. Read Using Occupation Data in IMPLAN for more information.
ENVIRONMENTAL DATA
Finally, IMPLAN has added environmental data by Industry for all U.S.-based models. This data comes in two distinct sets based on the year of the environmental data release. The 2019 environmental data show estimates of Criteria Pollutants, Greenhouse Gases, Land Use, Mineral Use, Nitrogen and Phosphorus Releases to Water, Pesticide Emissions, Toxic Chemical Releases, and Water Use by Industry for a given Region. The 2023 environmental data show Criteria and Hazardous Air Emissions, Commercial Non-Hazardous Waste Excluding Construction, Commercial Non-Hazardous Waste From Construction Activities, Commercial RCRA-Defined Hazardous Waste, Greenhouse Gasses, Point Source Industrial Releases to Ground, Land Use, Mineral Extraction, Nitrogen and Phosphorus Releases from Agriculture, Pesticide Releases, Water Withdrawals, and Point Source Releases to Water. The two options for applying environmental ratios to IMPLAN data each have different specificity and timeliness in accordance with source data. Read Using Environmental Data for more information.
CONSIDERATIONS RELATED TO REGIONAL MODELS
COMBINING REGIONS VS. LINKING REGIONS
IMPLAN allows for Combined Regions, allowing users to create Regions of groups of geographies. IMPLAN also has Multi-Regional Input-Output (MRIO) Analysis, which allows users to analyze impacts in other Regions due to economic activity in a given Region. In general, MRIO (linking Regions) is better than combining Regions due to aggregation bias. Read more about this in MRIO vs. Larger Study Area: Leakage, Aggregation Bias, and Other Considerations. However, there may be some instances where combining Regions may also be appropriate. Analyses are best designed when the initial impact occurs within a functional economy, meaning that the Region captures the local supply chain and areas in which employees are living and spending their income.
ACCURACY OF REGIONAL DATA
IMPLAN prides itself in its history as the gold standard for regional I-O data and takes great care to provide the most accurate estimates possible within practical timeframes. While IMPLAN’s data development techniques have been honed over several decades of experience and research, it should be noted that the smaller the geographic unit, the fewer raw data elements will be available for it and thus the greater the reliance on various estimation techniques will be required.
While a smaller geographic unit will have more specificity (i.e., will be less of an aggregation of widely varying Industries), it will rely more on estimation techniques than raw data values and thus will likely have a somewhat lower level of accuracy. Thus, as discussed in this zip code data article, it is generally not recommended to use zip code-based models. Exceptions include when modeling activity in a city that lies in an otherwise rural county or when working with Congressional Districts (which are aggregates of zip codes).
RELATED ARTICLES
Understanding U.S. Territory Data
Understanding Congressional District Data
Written November 11, 2024