The mining industry in NYS is large and diverse, encompassing a range of commodities that support highway construction and repair, new housing, ice control, landscaping and other commercial activities. The NYS mining and construction materials industry was responsible for generating $1.2 to $1.3 billion in wages and 28,000 to 30,000 jobs in the state in 2007. CGR performed an economic and fiscal impact study of the industry at the request of the NYS Geological Survey.

In early 2009, CGR was engaged to develop tools and approaches to estimate the economic impact of the New York Power Authority’s many activities.  NYPA operates 18 generating plants—including the Robert Moses Power Dam at Niagara Falls—and 1,400 miles of power transmission—including the 765 kV line bringing power to NYS from Canadian hydro sources.  CGR will provide decision support to NYPA as it allocates low cost hydropower to NYS business firms, plans major new transmission projects, and finances alternative energy research.

The University of Rochester, the #1 employer in the Rochester NY region, has helped shape the area’s transition from one dominated by manufacturing to one with a greater emphasis on education and health services. A CGR economic assessment of the UR and its affiliates found the impact on the 5-county region is substantial. The report reveals that in 2007 the UR employed about 19,000 full-time equivalent (FTE) employees and paid wages in excess of $1 billion, much of which stayed in the 5-county region. The report further shows that about 43,000 jobs are associated with the University and its affiliates in the Rochester MSA, either directly or as a consequence of University activity. Although some of this employment is a result of purely local demand, more than 28,000 jobs and $1.4 billion in labor income can be attributed to demand for goods and services from outside the Rochester area.  This “traded sector” demand (economic demand brought into this area because of the UR) represents the impact that the UR has on the Rochester MSA that would not exist without the University.

Recently a New York City coalition that works on behalf of the poor and working class (Jobs with Justice), issued a report highly critical of IDA activity in NYS, and argued, among other things, that IDA project success rates were exaggerated.  CGR closely examined the same data that was used by the coalition and came to substantially different conclusions. Based on our analysis, we find the earlier report biased and incomplete and urge the coalition to take corrective action. CGR’s report includes a summary table of the many differences between the two studies.

The primary economic development entities in most NY communities are industrial development agencies (IDAs). NY’s Legislature is considering proposals that would require projects funded by IDAs to pay construction workers prevailing, instead of market, wage. CGR analysis shows extending prevailing wage to the private sector would significantly inflate NY’s already above-average construction costs and weaken the state’s ability to compete in the ongoing competition for major development projects.