'Eds & Meds' and Evanston
Submitted by Bill Smith on Friday, August 21, 2009, at 7:49 am
I ran across a Brookings Institution study today that seems relevant to debates about Evanston's future.
It has a suitably long academic-style title, "The Local Economic Impact of “Eds & Meds”: How Policies to Expand Universities and Hospitals Affect Metropolitan Economies."
And, it's not brand new, having been issued last December.
But it reaches the following conclusions:
* Expanding eds and meds brings in new income to a metropolitan area. It does so by enabling those institutions to serve more students or patients who live elsewhere and who would not otherwise spend money in the metropolitan area. This effect is greater for an expansion of eds than for an expansion of meds, since more people cross metropolitan area boundaries to attend school than to receive medical treatment.
* Expanding eds raises metropolitan residents’ earnings by improving their skills. The presence of eds in a metropolitan area makes area residents more likely to earn college degrees and remain in the area to work. In addition, students who come to the area from elsewhere are more likely to remain in the area to work after completing their degrees. In both these ways, expanding eds increases the percentage of a metropolitan area’s residents who have college degrees and, therefore, increases earnings.
* Expanding university research spurs metropolitan economic development. University research can lead to the creation of new businesses in a metropolitan area and improve the performance of existing businesses. It can do so through technology transfer activities and through the broader involvement of universities with local businesses.
* Expanding meds is likely to encourage other employers in a metropolitan area to pay higher wages. Health care pays higher than average wages regardless of workers’ skills and demographic characteristics. Expanding health care is likely to raise wages throughout a metropolitan area by putting upward pressure on wages throughout the metropolitan labor market.
Northwestern University, of course, is Evanston's largest employer, and the city's two hospitals -- Evanston Hospital and St. Francis Hospital -- are the next biggest.
If you're interested in reading the full study, it's available here.
Tags:
Evanston ain't a metropolitan area.
I have no doubt that the conclusions about “Eds and Meds” are entirely true and that Northwestern University and the Evanston and St. Francis Hospitals are wonderful assets to the CHICAGO Metropolitan area. However, these institutions’ impacts upon Evanston have both pluses and minuses and these remain a legitimate source of political controversy.
Eds and Meds and Spending in Evanston
One of the expected spending by those associated with Eds and Meds.
However the Council continues to make the business enviornment unfriendly to business [infinite council and zoning arguments, silly rules and regulations], keeping businesses out, esp. department and general purpose stores, spending on 'junk' art and other projects that must make prospective businesses wonder what kind of city this is---spending with no thought of economics. As well merchants have [maybe for reasons just mentioned] left Evanston for better enviornments.
Then remember non-retail industry we use to have ? Why were they 'chased' out ?
Bottomline is Eds and Meds go to non-Evanston mauls and Chicago to shop. Let alone all the other citizens who either travel to shop or do without if they can't travel.
Please clarify
Hi John,
I'm sure that such institutions have pluses and minuses for the larger metro area as well.
Let's get to the bottom line. Do you think NU and the hospitals are a net plus or minus for Evanston?
Would we be better off with 'em or without 'em? That's the real question.
--Bill
Bill: Who is this "we" that
Bill:
Who is this "we" that you are referring to? Any business or institution exists because it has customers willing to voluntarily part with their money for certain products or services. So they are a net plus for those customers. It seems that the "we" you have in mind is supposed to apply some sort of metric to determine if these institutions are a net plus for Evanston. The implication being that a thumbs down (democratic vote?) is justification for sending NU and the hospitals packing.
Let's apply your reasoning to "Bill Smith." Is the existence of Bill Smith a net plus or minus for Evanston? For his neighborhood? For his block? What's to be our metric? Is Bill good looking or ugly? Fat or thin? A taxpayer or tax consumer? Does he spend money in Evanston? Does he employ Evanstonians? Is he single or married? Is he a useless eater? What should be the consequence to Bill of a collective thumbs down? Send him packing? Put him in a re-education camp? Stand him in front of a wall?
Of course, in a free country, Bill Smith's virtues, foibles and idiosyncrasies are no one's business except his own and those who voluntarily choose to interact with him. He should remain unmolested to go about his life unless he forcibly interferes with the rights of others to do the same.
It's only in a police state, where individuals and businesses are the property of the collective, that the question of net social value is of intense interest.
Net benefit
Hi Meta,
I was not suggesting euthanasia for non-profits.
I was only suggesting that Evanstonians have a choice about whether to revive the periodic political campaign here that targets non-profits as "freeloaders."
If it is effective, such a campaign will tend to lead non-profits to choose to relocate to or expand in other communities that are more accepting of them.
In that context, I just think we need to assess whether we would be better off with them or without them, before we start beating the political drums.
Bill
I would agree with much of
I would agree with much of the argument here..that no individual or entity needs to justify its value in order to exist, as long as it isn't harming anyone... but the last paragraph
"It's only in a police state, where individuals and businesses are the property of the collective, that the question of net social value is of intense interest."
makes me suspect that MetaCynic is one of those NRA crazies who shows up at 'town hall' meetings with teabags on his hat to denounce 'socialized medicine' (for other people, at least) and believes the Palin/Grassley/LaRouche/Limbaugh talk of 'Obama death panels'.
{I think that Schawkowsky is having a meeting in Niles on Aug 31...see you there. }
Plus or Minus
Net plus or minus? These institutions are a net plus for Evanston; so too, is downtown development. I support the community of Evanston, working through its government, doing what it can to accentuate the pluses and mitigating the minuses.
The many aspects of town-gown relations or of downtown zoning requirements are each black or white, but averaged together, become a shade of gray.
I was prompted to write because I perceived a "spin" to the original post.
Eds and Meds
To clarify a few facts that you may not know:
--Saint Francis Hospital pays millions of dollars in taxes each year despite its non-profit status.
--Saint Francis Hospital spends millions of dollars every year on charity care and free health education, AND
--Saint Francis Hospital is one of the largest employers in Evanston, with 1,100 employees.
Contact Saint Francis Hospital Public Relations if you'd like more facts about what this hospital contributes to Evanston -- you might be very surprised.