Cost Per Job Associated with EDA Investments in Urban and Rural Areas

摘要

This brief report was prepared in response to a request from Arizona Senator John McCain to the secretary of commerce asking for a study of the differences in job-creation cost of federal projects in urban and rural areas. The study examines two data sets that contain detailed information on infrastructure construction projects funded by EDA that were completed in 1990 and 1993. Findings are inconclusive. For 1993 projects, the average cost per job is slightly lower in rural areas than in urban areas. For 1990 projects, the average cost per job is almost three times higher in rural areas than urban. However, the latter finding can be considered more significant and reliable due to the substantially larger size of the 1990 data set.