Download the full report, "The Impact of Allegheny College on Economic Activity within Crawford County, Pennsylvania: 2004-2005," here (pdf).
Download a four-page summary of the report here (pdf).
Allegheny College is a key contributor to the economy of Crawford County. Yet the precise nature, magnitude, and effects of its contributions have been somewhat unclear and under-explored.
In 2005 Allegheny President Richard J. Cook invited the College's Department of Economics to develop a detailed model of the Crawford County economy that could be used to document and analyze the College's economic impact on the area. In the summer of 2006, two members of the department, Professors Behrooz Afrasiabi and Steve Onyeiwu, undertook that task; during the drafting of the report they were joined by College Historian Jonathan Helmreich.
An executive summary of their report, titled "The Impact of Allegheny College on Economic Activity within Crawford County, Pennsylvania: 2004-2005," appears below. The full report is available for download here (pdf), and a four-page summary of the report is available for download here
Allegheny College contributed an estimated economic impact of $93.1 million to the Crawford County economy in 2004-2005. In addition to about five hundred workers directly employed by Allegheny, nearly 1,031 of the jobs in the county existed as a result of College-related transactions. This implies that Allegheny accounted for one out of every forty jobs in the county. The College and its employees contributed an estimated $1.2 million annually in property and income taxes to the county, city, and school districts. College-related transactions generated an additional $1.4 million in property and other taxes, bringing the College's total tax impact to around $2.7 million for 2004-2005.
Allegheny College spends approximately $56.3 million annually that in turn generates an additional $36.8 million in indirect expenditures in the county each year. This new wealth is manifested in rising employee compensation, as well as higher proprietors' and property income. If the three neighboring counties of Erie, Mercer, and Venango are considered, Allegheny's economic impact rises to $94.8 million annually. Allegheny-related transactions account for 1,104 of the jobs in Crawford and these three other counties.
The presence of the College in the county has resulted in the retention of nearly eight hundred Allegheny graduates in the area, who contribute an estimated $35 million annually to the local economy in earned income. Additionally, one in forty-nine jobs in the county is held by an Allegheny graduate. In most cases decisions by alumni to work and live in the area and their continuing presence may be linked to their original attendance at Allegheny. The College also contributes positively to the Crawford County economy in other ways, including human capital formation, attraction of visitors, community service, cultural enrichment, provision of facilities, tuition remission for selected county residents, and retention of alumni in the area.
