Border Hopping?

Hello Bethany, A loss of a facility represents the loss of production in the region. The simplest way to measure this in IMPLAN is to use a negative input. As the model is linear, the value will simply be applied in the same manner as a positive input, and your results will be negative. However, there are a couple of caveats to studying the loss of an industry. 1. IMPLAN uses a static model, so it won’t take account of subsequent responses to job losses relating to a facility closure. In reality, over time, not every direct job will remain lost, as many former employees will look for work elsewhere (or will be reemployed at the facility’s new location, in this case). Therefore, the negative direct employment value is only a measure of the closing facility’s jobs lost, not necessarily the jobs lost in the economy. In your case, you do mention that the labor market is likely the same, due to the close proximity. Therefore, the main loss related to employment that you are likely looking to capture are lost income taxes. Given that the labor force won’t substantially change, and if few people will be laid off, the only substantial effects of this relocation are effects related to different political boundaries, i.e., taxes. State and local income taxes, both personal and corporate, will be most important here, since they generally are paid on a place-of-work basis, and property taxes less so (the empty facility will still be where it was, but might become less valuable; also, other types of taxable property, e.g. equipment, might be moved). 2. The negative impact on the local economy may also be lessened due to other factors that may take place within that year or soon after, besides reemployment. For example, a different manufacturer (of a similar or even different product) may move into the vacated facility, compensating for some of the loss. In your case, the proximity of the new location likely means that many of the commodity sources, i.e., the supply chain, will be the same. Regards, IMPLAN Staff