2006 Workshop on Evaluating Economic Development Impacts

Organized by the TRB Committee on Transportation and Economic Development
March 31, 2006 Little Rock, AR

OVERVIEW

The workshop was aimed at transportation and economic development practitioners. It was designed to focus on “doing and using” economic analysis for transportation decision making. Participants were given the opportunity to hear from leading experts in the field of transportation economics, so that upon completion of the workshop, they could: (1) demonstrate the role of transportation in the economy; (2) describe the different applications of economic analysis; (3) compare and contrast alternative methods and tools; and (4) discuss notable practices in the application of economic analysis to transportation planning and programming. Over forty participants registered and attended the full workshop.

You may view the presentation materials by clicking on the links below.

PROGRAM

8:00 -8:10 Welcome and Overview – Paula Dowell

8:10–8:25 Session 1
Economic Efficiency or Economic Development Impacts? What’s the Difference?
Paula Dowell, Ph.D., Wilbur Smith Associates
(Click here for Session 1 Materials - pdf file)

- Congestion vs Strategic Development Benefits
- Distinguishing between development impacts and benefit cost analysis
- Comparing different measures of results

8:25- 8:40 Session 2
Tailoring the Analysis- How do we know what type of analysis we need?
Dan Hodge, Cambridge Systematics
(Click here for Session 2 Materials - pdf file)

- What are the reasons to conduct economic impact analysis?
- Defining the study area and jurisdictional perspectives
- Relating impact measure and data needs to purpose

8:40 – 9:20 Session 3 – Public Sector Experience on Use of Economic Analysis
Discussion Panelists:

- Greg Bischak, Appalachian Region Commission
- Dennis Leong, Wisconsin DOT
- Chris Mann, Southeast Michigan Council of Governments
- Martin Weiss, Federal Highway Administration

9:30–10:00 Session 4
Methods and Tools – An Overview
Glen Weisbrod, Economic Development Research Group
(Click here for Session 4 Materials - pdf file)
(Click here for Links to Available Transportation Economic Models)

- Profile of categories of methods and analytical tools
- Comparing the tools
- Matching the methods to your analysis

10:00–10:45 Session 5
Challenges and Innovations in Conducting Economic Analysis – Practitioners Panel
Discussion Panelists:

- Ira Hirschman, PB Consult
- Mike Lawrence, Jack Faucett Associates
- Dan Hodge, Cambridge Systematics
- Paula Dowell, Wilbur Smith Associates
- Glen Weisbrod, Economic Development Research Group

10:45-11:00 Session 6 – Wrap-up and Closing Remarks
Glen Weisbrod, Economic Development Research Group
(Click here to view list of downloadable guides)

- Published Resources
- TRB Committee Activities

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