Secondary economic impact

Secondary economic impacts are the [economic output] changes occurring in the economy due to transactions with the sectors that generate the primary economic impacts. Each time a transaction takes place, there is a measurable economic impact. The people, pubic organisations and businesses who are primarily involved in a specific project, decision, event or policy, will generate further economic effects due to an additional re-spending of income, revenues, time, and tax to the transaction partners.

Secondary impacts are a result of the [primary economic impacts], since each urban development project will not only generate effects on the targeted markets, but also on other markets. = Definitions =Secondary (or additional) economic impacts come in different forms and shapes. They include:

Secondary or direct economic impacts

Secondary economic impacts are the effects resulting from subsequent rounds of expenditure (re-expenditures) of different sectors in the economy. These subsequent rounds of expenditure are the result of transactions between the owners/users of the urban object in question and representatives of other sectors in the economy.

Secondary economic impacts of the first and higher order

Secondary economic impacts can be divided in effects of the first and higher order. The realization of a hotel, for example, will generate transactions between the hotel and the direct suppliers (this is a first order effect). These direct suppliers, in turn, will perform transactions with their suppliers, and so on. These kind of transactions are called economic impacts of the second and higher order.

Induced economic impacts

Induced economic impacts result from the re-expenditures of households. Employees of companies and public organizations, for instance, earn wages that are spend on food, clothing, shelter and other consumer goods and services. This leads to further transactions throughout the local economy.

Dynamic economic impacts

Dynamic economic impacts refer to the consequences of broader shifts over time in population and location patterns, land use and resulting land value patterns due to an shift in the economic balance. Commencing the realization of a major international airport, for example, will lead to broad economic shifts in the location patterns of companies, employees and suppliers that will in the end have consequences for the income and welfare of people in the whole nation.

Multiplier effects

The relationship between one form of economic activity and the total additional activity generated by a specific project, decision, event or policy are called the ‘multiplier effect’. The term multiplier is used since the indirect and induced impacts make the overall economic impact substantially larger than the direct impacts alone

The risk of double counting secondary economic impacts

In case of measuring the economic impact of an urban development project one should measure both primary and secondary economic impacts. However, secondary impacts only have an additional economic effect in case local and regional markets are struggling with market imperfections (e.g., an extraordinary high unemployment rate in a certain sector). An example:

The construction of a new road leads to a reduction in travel time which is valued at 200,000 euro per year. The reduction in travel time enables a neighbouring company to reduce its production costs with 50,000 euro per year due to its ability to hire experienced employees from outside the region. Another local company reduces its production costs with 25,000 euro due to a reduction in transportation costs. The total impact on welfare in this example will be 250,000 euro. The answer is not 275,000 euro because the 25,000 euro reduction in transportation costs is already included in the 200,000 euro, while the 50,000 euro is additional. Additional because apparently the labour market in this particular region did not function optimal since the company was not able to produce as efficient as possible until one could hire expertise from right outside the region.

Examples of secondary economic impacts

A new highway

The realisation of a new highway does not only generate effects for the direct owners and users of the highway, but could also generate the following secondary effects (depending on the primary impacts):