The Economic Impact of the University of New Mexico on the State of New Mexico

The University of New Mexico Office of the President commissioned the UNM Bureau of Business and Economic Research (BBER) to conduct a study of the economic impact of the University of New Mexico (UNM) on the economy of New Mexico for the Fiscal year 2007. This report contains the results of the study and outlines the data and methods used to arrive at these results. This study focuses on the economic impact of spending and employment by UNM. The impacts show how the dollars that flow to UNM from out-of-state sources support direct spending on salaries, benefits, and goods and services, and how that spending creates additional economic activity in the state of New Mexico. UNM's expenditures on goods and services create indirect effects as the firms supplying UNM buy supplies from other firms and employ people to produce their products. Part of the salaries of UNM employees and UNM vendors are spent in the community, creating further demand for goods and services and resulting in more people working and additional income. However, this is not the maximum impact from UNM, as the impacts of other factors such as encouraging technology development and contributing to an educated workforce are likely to be substantial even if they are less easily quantified. (Nicholas Potter)