Appendix A
Terms and Definitions
- Study Year: Fiscal Year 2024: July 1, 2023, to June 30, 2024
- Total Economic Impact: The combined direct, indirect, and induced effects across the economy generated by WVU and WVU Medicine.
- Direct Economic Impact: Spending by WVU and WVU Medicine, its employees, and its patients and visitors.
- Indirect Economic Impact: Re-spending by vendors and suppliers that provide goods and services to WVU and WVU Medicine.
- Induced Economic Impact: Household spending by employees whose wages are tied to WVU and WVU Medicine, generating activity in housing, retail, food, and other services.
- Multiplier Effect: The added economic activity created when WVU and WVU Medicine’s direct spending circulates through local businesses and households.
- Direct Employment: The total number of jobs directly supported by WVU and WVU Medicine, including physicians, nurses, allied health professionals, researchers, administrative staff, and operations personnel.
- Indirect Employment: Additional jobs created through WVU and WVU Medicine’s spending with vendors and suppliers. As these local businesses expand to meet demand, they hire more employees, generating a ripple effect across industries such as construction, transportation, and professional services.
- Induced Employment: Jobs sustained when WVU and WVU Medicine employees, vendors, and suppliers spend their earnings in the local economy. This household spending supports employment in sectors such as retail, dining, housing, hospitality, and other community services.
- State and Local Tax Impact: Government revenue generated at the state and local levels through WVU and WVU Medicine’s operations. This includes taxes paid directly by the organization, as well as those generated through employee wages, household spending, and purchases made by vendors and suppliers that support WVU and WVU Medicine.
Appendix B
Data and Methods
IMPLAN Methodology
The analysis was conducted using IMPLAN (Impact Analysis for Planning), one of the most widely accepted economic modeling systems in the United States. Originally developed by the U.S. Forest Service and the University of Minnesota in the late 1970s, IMPLAN is now maintained by IMPLAN Group LLC and used by thousands of universities, healthcare systems, consulting firms, and government agencies.
IMPLAN integrates data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis, Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Census Bureau, and other federal sources. It combines national production functions for more than 450 industries with county-level economic data to estimate how organizations interact with local and state economies. This framework generates multipliers that measure how one dollar of direct spending circulates through the economy, creating additional rounds of activity.
The model captures three levels of impact:
- Direct impacts – spending directly attributable to the institution (operations, payroll, and capital investments).
- Indirect impacts – supply chain activity generated by vendor and contractor spending.
- Induced impacts – household spending supported by employee wages, both within the institution and across related industries.
By combining these effects, IMPLAN provides a comprehensive and conservative estimate of how institutional spending ripples through the broader economy.
Input-Output Analysis and the Multiplier Effect
The study relied on input-output (I-O) analysis, the standard methodology for measuring economic impacts. At its core, I-O analysis maps the flow of resources among industries, households, and governments within a region. It records how dollars enter the economy, how they are spent and re-spent across sectors, and how these transactions generate subsequent rounds of activity. This chain reaction is known as the multiplier effect.
For example, when an institution pays wages, employees spend those earnings on housing, groceries, and services in their community. Vendors supplying goods to the institution purchase raw materials and hire workers, who in turn spend their income locally. These repeated cycles of spending continue until money “leaks” out of the region (for example, when a good or service is purchased from out-of-state).
Considerations
As with all I-O models, several considerations apply:
- Fixed-price assumption – The model assumes that increased demand does not affect prices or capacity, making it appropriate for snapshot analyses.
- Direct impacts based on actual spending – Direct expenditures are not modeled but reflect real data reported by institutions. Changes to spending directly alter indirect and induced results.
- Regional leakage – The more economically diverse a region, the more spending remains in circulation before leaking out. As a result, state-level impacts are larger than regional impacts, and national impacts are larger still.
Conservative Approach
This study represents a conservative estimate of impact, grounded in actual institutional data and standard modeling assumptions. Results provide a point-in-time snapshot of the contributions of WVU and WVU Medicine, capturing the ways its operations support jobs, generate tax revenue, and stimulate economic activity across communities statewide.
Additional Analysis
While IMPLAN serves as the foundation of Tripp Umbach’s modeling, the analysis is enhanced with customized components that capture longer-term and nontraditional impacts. For this study, those measures include charitable giving and volunteerism. This comprehensive approach reflects not only the immediate economic effects of WVU and WVU Medicine but also the lasting value it provides through strengthened communities and improved quality of life.
Appendix C
Tripp Umbach Qualifications
Founded in Pittsburgh, PA, and now headquartered in Kansas City, MO, Tripp Umbach is recognized as one of the nation’s leading private consulting firms specializing in economic and community development. For 35 years, the firm has partnered with more than 1,000 healthcare, education, government, and corporate clients to advance the economic, social, and physical well-being of communities worldwide. Tripp Umbach has completed more than 500 economic impact studies for hospitals, health systems, and higher education institutions across the United States, along with community assessments and economic development strategies.