BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) - A study done by the university’s Division of Economic Development has determined that LSU’s nine campuses impact the state by as much as $3.9 billion every year.
To come up with a snapshot of LSU’s value to Louisiana, the study measures everything from the goods and services LSU buys from vendors, the spending habits of faculty and staff and the cost of students’ food, transportation and housing.
The study found that for every dollar LSU receives from the state, the university’s campuses collectively provide a return of $5.08 in total economic activity.
LSU President F. King Alexander tells The Advocate (https://bit.ly/1k33a1x ) he asked economists at the E.J. Ourso College of Business this summer to come up with a way to measure LSU’s impact on different regions of the state and on Louisiana as a whole.
“I’m proud to announce these results,” Alexander said. “It is very important that we did this because it helps us quantify our impact.”
Economists looked at how much money LSU spends, how much money people at LSU earn, and the number of jobs the university creates. They found that during the 2012-13 fiscal year, LSU created 36,757 jobs, either directly or indirectly, amounting to $1.5 billion in statewide earnings.
The study found that during the 2012-13 fiscal year, LSU supported Louisiana and different regions of the state in the following ways:
. Statewide: $3.9 billion in sales; $1.5 billion in new statewide earnings; and an estimated 36,757 direct and indirect jobs.
. Baton Rouge: $2.1 billion in sales; $764 million in earnings; and more than 21,400 jobs.
. New Orleans: $887.8 million in sales; $391.2 million in earnings; and approximately 6,900 jobs.
. Shreveport-Bossier City: $535.7 million in sales; $214.8 million in earnings; and 2,400 jobs.
. Alexandria: $52.7 million in sales; $17.6 million in earnings; and about 640 jobs.
. Lafayette: $47.2 million in sales; $17.1 million in earnings; and 515 jobs.
The LSU system includes the main campus in Baton Rouge; the LSU Agricultural Center; the Paul M. Hebert Law Center; Pennington Biomedical Research Center; LSU-Alexandria; LSU-Eunice; LSU-Shreveport; and the LSU Health Sciences Centers in Shreveport and New Orleans.
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Information from: The Advocate, https://theadvocate.com
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