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Upjohn: Every $1 invested in Manufacturing Extension Partnership program yields nearly $9 in return

March 23, 2017

A recent study by the W.E. Upjohn Institute finds that the National Institute of Standards and Technology’s (NIST) Hollings Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) Program generates a substantial economic and financial return on investment for the federal government. The $130 million invested in MEP during FY2016 by the federal government generated more than $1.1 billion in increased federal personal income tax, a ROI of roughly 8.7:1, according to Upjohn. The study’s authors also find evidence that total employment in the U.S. was more than 142,000 jobs higher than it would have been without the program, based on direct, indirect, and induced jobs generated by projects at MEP centers. Additional economic impacts of the program identified by Upjohn include personal income that is $8.4 billion higher and overall GDP is $15.4 billion greater.

The study, The National-Level Economic Impact of the Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP), uses an economic impact model developed by Regional Economic Models Inc. (REMI) to forecast the indirect and induced effects of reported increases in jobs, sales, cost savings, and investments by MEP clients. Despite Upjohn’s use of a conservative approach that estimates the program’s broader economic impacts by examining the competitive interactions between firms, the study finds economic returns that are considerably higher than previously reported by MEP.  

manufacturing, dept of commerce