A new Rutgers Regional Report, “The Economic and Fiscal Impact of Hurricane Sandy in New Jersey,” authored by Rutgers University economist Nancy Mantell, director of the Rutgers Economic Advisory Service (R/ECON); Joseph J. Seneca, university professor and economist at the Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy; Michael Lahr, Associate Research Professor at the Bloustein School’s Center for Urban Policy Research; and Will Irving, Bloustein School research associate, estimates the effects of the storm on the New Jersey economy. The authors use the R/ECON model of the economy consisting of over 250 equations and 30 business sectors to estimate the effects of the storm on state Gross Domestic Product, employment, income, and state taxes.
Estimates are made for plausible assumptions about the extent of the damage inflicted by the storm and for the level and timing of restoration and rebuilding expenditures. While these estimates indicate that the net economic and fiscal effects are modest, that result is critically dependent on the full resources needed for recovery being made available. Without those resources, the authors estimate that the damages to the state’s economy will be significant.
The complete report may be found at: https://rucore.libraries.rutgers.edu/rutgers-lib/43467/PDF/1/
