For example, FY 1987 NASA procurement spending created (directly and indirectly) 4,800 jobs and $421 million in industry sales in Illinois. Further, for every direct dollar of NASA spending in this state, an additional 10 dollars of spending will be generated indirectly by the NASA procurement budget. This may seem counterintuitive, since Illinois is not generally considered to be a state that benefits greatly from the Space Program. However, Illinois benefits substantially from NASA spending. Its industries produce the goods and services required indirectly by the recipients of NASA procurement awards: capital goods, electronic components, scientific instruments, chemical products, primary and fabricated metal products, specialized business services, etc. Further, because of the widely based, indirect nature of these economic benefits to the state, Illinois will benefit greatly from NASA procurement spending in other states on a wide variety of programs, and its benefits are not tied to a specific contract, project, or program. In this sense, a state like Illinois is a more certain beneficiary of NASA spending than are some states receiving sizable prime contract awards. In sum, many workers, industries, and states will benefit substantially from NASA procurement expenditures, and these benefits are much more widespread throughout the United States than has heretofore been realized. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This work was supported, in part, by the NASA Alumni League, Washington, D.C. The authors are grateful to Jerome Rosenberg for advice and assistance in the course of this research, but retain the sole responsibility for any errors. REFERENCES [1] See the discussion in U.S. Office of Technology Assessment, Civilian Space Policy and Applications. Washington, D.C., 1982. [2] See National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Spinoffs. Washington, D.C., 1990. [3] These estimates for the U.S. Space Program are developed in Midwest Research Institute, Economic Impact and Technological Progress of NASA Research and Development Expenditures. Report prepared for the National Academy of Public Administration, 1988. [4] See Business-Higher Education Forum, Space: America’s New Competitive Frontier. Washington, D.C. 1986; U.S. Congressional Budget Office. Using Federal R&D to Promote Commercial Innovation. Washington, D.C., 1988. [5] The results summarized here are discussed in greater detail in Management Information Services, Inc., The Economic and Employment Benefits to the Nation and to Each State of the U.S. Space Program. Washington, D.C., 1989. A similar analysis of the FY 1990 NASA budget is presented in Management Information Services, Inc., The Private Sector Economic and Employment Benefits to the Nation and To Each State of Proposed FY 1990 NASA Procurement Expenditures. Washington, D.C., 1990.
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