Research and Policy Analysis
Inforum develops and operates dynamic models that integrate industry relationships within the macroeconomy. This makes them ideal for the study of many types of policy questions that are of interest to businesses, trade associations, and government. Some examples include:
- What effect will reduced military spending have on employment and prices for certain industries?
- How will changes in immigration policies affect employment growth in the U.S.?
- How will changes in Social Security and Medicare policies affect labor costs in the manufacturing sector?
- How will a repeal of the gasoline tax affect industries?
- What are the employment and output effects by industry stemming from the imposition of trade barriers on a certain good?
These questions are all examples of concern about the industrial impacts of macroeconomic developments. Many economists would use input-output analysis in some form and at some stage to answer these questions. The "top down" approach is to use an aggregate macroeconomic model to find the macroeconomic effects and then turn to input-output analysis to spell out the industrial consequences. In this approach, what happens at the industry level never affects the macro totals. Inforum uses a "bottom up" approach which is to build an integrated model that puts the input-output information and macroeconomic relationships into one model, so that the industry effects are built into the macro results. Inforum's LIFT model is uniquely qualified to answer policy questions in the following areas:
- Defense
- Health
- International
- Energy
The needs of a user often go beyond a standard forecast and require special studies drawing on Inforum's strengths. Some recent studies include:
Environmental Protection Administration (EPA)
Comparative analysis of employment and output impacts for a consistent set of policy scenarios, yet to be determined by EPA. The Inforum LIFT model will be compared with the EMPAX model and the IGEM model.
Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services/Office of the Actuary (CMS/OACT)
The LIFT model is used to make long-term (75-year) projections of the U.S. economy to evaluate the fiscal and economic sustainability of long-term health care projections The LIFT model is also used to assess the industry and macroeconomic effects of alternative health care policies.
Department of Defense (DOD/OSD/CAPE)
For DOD, Inforum uses the Inforum LIFT and ILIAD models in conjunction with a defense industry module (IDEPPS), a module calculating state impacts (RDEPPS) and a module calculating impacts on employment by occupation by industry (LDEPPS) to show the context of US defense spending within the overall economy. Inforum also performs special analyses with the Inforum LIFT model and/or DEPPS to determine economic effects of specified government defense spending scenarios, such as the sequester.
Department of Labor (DOL)
Use the LIFT model to conduct economic analysis of a port closure due to labor market disruption.
Department of Commerce (DOC)
LIFT and ILIAD models were used to study the economic impact of immigration on the U.S. economy.
A selection of additional examples also is available. Please contact us for more information.