USC system, alumni pump $4.1 billion into state’s economy annually
January 12, 2012
SPARTANBURG, SC – January 12, 2012 – The University of South Carolina and its alumni drive the state’s economy by supporting nearly 53,000 jobs – about 1 in every 37 jobs in South Carolina – and pumping $4.1 billiondollars into the state’s economy every year.
The figures were released Thursday (Jan. 12) by Darla Moore School economists Joey Von Nessen and Doug Woodward.
The university’s eight campuses, which employ 14,000 people, and their 155,000 alumni in the Palmetto State contribute $75 million more to the state in taxes than USC receives in state appropriations, Von Nessensaid.
“This is a key finding of this study because it shows that in carrying out its mission to educate South Carolinians, USC also helps togenerate a sizable amount of revenue for the state,” Von Nessen said.
“The economic impact of the University of South Carolina is sweeping,” USC President Harris Pastides said. “Education is acknowledged as thepath to economic success and increased quality of life for individuals.However, these results illustrate the benefits, including economicprosperity, that the University of South Carolina contributes to ourstate’s citizens in every community regardless of their connection toCarolina.”
Specifically, the $4.1 billion represents the total dollar value ofall goods and services associated with USC, including higher wagesearned by graduates and business activity resulting from theuniversity’s spending.
South Carolina residents with bachelor’s degrees earn on average$15,000 more per year than high school graduates, Woodward said,creating what is called a spillover effect for communities.
“When the number of college-educated workers in a community rises, ittends to increase the incomes of all workers, not just thecollege-educated workers,” Woodward said. “These are known as economicspillover effects. For example, college-educated workers bring newknowledge and skills sets to the workplace that are then partiallyshared and transferred to others on the job, making other workers moreproductive.”
In addition to the financial boost, communities with larger numbers of college graduates tend to have better schools, better health care andmore involvement from residents, Von Nessen said. And, crime rates tendto be lower in those communities.
USC’s impact is felt all across the state, not just around its eightcampuses. Alumni living in Charleston pump $310 million into the state’s economy; in the Grand Strand, alumni account for $137 million of stateeconomic output; and, in the Pee Dee, $132 million a year goes into thestate’s economy from alumni living in that region.
The study examined the impact of higher wages that working alumni earn beyond what they would have earned without a USC degree; identified the impact of the increase in wages for all workers in South Carolinacreated by spillover effects; estimated the economic impact of nontaxdollars the university spends; and quantified the increased state taxrevenues resulting from the higher wages and expenditures.
The economic impact measured how expenditures increased the demand for goods and services in the region over what the demands would have beenwithout the presence of a university campus in the community.
The full study of USC’s economic impact is available at be www.sc.edu/impact.
