PRINCIPLES of ECONOMICS
ECON 202
Final Project – Checking Meeting #1
Fall 2025
Prof Dr Cassia B. Galvao
The contents of this file are of exclusive use of the Instructor and enrolled Students in support of the
ECON 202/Fall 2025 course. Reproduction or re-posting of any form is not permitted.
What is a basic “Economic Impact Analysis” (EIA)?
Why to employ an EIA?
This exercise introduces the basic logic and structure of
economic impact analysis: a tool economists use to measure
how an event, investment, or business activity affects a local
or regional economy.
Image credit: https://www.collidu.com/presentation-economic-impact-analysis
What is a basic “Economic Impact Analysis” (EIA)?
Image credit: https://www.collidu.com/presentation-economic-impact-analysis
What are we going to learn with an EIA ?
Students will apply key concepts such as direct, indirect, and
induced number of jobs; percentage of GDP; tax generation
and contribution, with the respective managerial and policy
implications.
By completing this assignment, students will:
1. Identify types of economic impacts.
2. Apply basic data collection, organizing and analysis.
3.Interpret results and understand their relevance to public
decision-making.
The rationale of an economic impact analysis: a tool
economists use to measure how an event, investment, or
business activity affects a local or regional economy.
Typical Issues Addressed in a EIA
Image credit:
https://www.colli
du.com/present
ation-economicimpact-analysis
Illustration 1: What does an Economic Impact Analysis look like?
Illustration 2: What does an Economic Impact Analysis look like?
Full report available: https://porthouston.com/wpcontent/uploads/2023/05/2022-Economic-Impact-Report_Final.pdf
Now, let’s review the Assignment
From the syllabus…page 4
Please read carefully the instructions and
requirements
Main characteristics:
• This is a group assignment.
• It corresponds to 30% of your final grade.
• Main goal: is for students to present an “Economic Impact Analysis”
of a company or organization of their choice.
• Students are required to: run their own research to find out about
the company and the data they will employ in their analysis.
• Students are responsible for forming their groups and choosing the
companies (firms/organizations) for their analysis.
Formatting:
• Font type, size, and spacing: Times New Roman or Arial, size 12, single
space
• Minimum 5 and maximum 8 pages excluding cover pages, abstract,
references and AI disclosure appendix.
• Citation style: APA
Grading criteria: The final paper will be graded based on five criteria as
follows (syllabus page 4).
Observations:
• Your Group Paper is worth 90 points (out of the 100).
• The Questionnaire on Canvas is individually graded and worth 10 points.
• Partial credit is always possible. However, failing to deliver on these
criteria will result in deductions of points. You are welcome to submit a
draft for review before submitting the final version for grading.
Draft deadline = Oct 31st at 6pm (via email)
Let’s review the instructions and requirements
Submission:
• The paper must be a PDF file electronically
submitted via email to the instructor
(galvaoc@tamug.edu).
• The Questionnaire responses must be submitted
via Canvas
• Both items (paper & questionnaire) have the
same Deadline = Dec 05th (Friday) at 6pm. Late
work policy applies only if an excused absence
documentation is presented as per University
Student Rule nr. 7 (see syllabus).
The Expected Structure of the Final Paper
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Introduction: Briefly describe the company, their business profile and
main products/service.
Sector/Segment Characterization: describe the sector main structure
(nr of operating companies, competitors, market share, main trends
and challenges).
EIA Data: given a period of analysis, provide the output (data varies
from sector to sector); nr of employees; nr of indirect jobs generated;
taxes paid and participation or impact in the GDP (local, State or
national) and any additional relevant performance indicator.
Data analysis: interpretation of the EIA data presented including
managerial and/or policy implications. You may employ scenarios
here.
Conclusions: summary of items 1-4 plus final thought on the EIA and
the firm/company situation.
Next Steps:
1) Identify your firm
or organization
to be studied and
researched
2) Identify the main
sources of data
3) Draft your paper
outline &
coordinate with
group members
4) Decide on how
you will utilize AI
and keep track of
it (see syllabus
page 6).
Remember the sooner you start, the better it
is to fully develop your analysis.
Where is data coming from?
Most common sources are:
• Company publicly available reports (Annual Reports, Financial
Statements, Meeting Minutes (shareholders)
• Company website and social media posts
• Sector Associations, Unions, Conferences
• U.S. Government Administration (US Census Bureau of Statistics,
DoC, DoD, EPA, DoHS, DoT etc)
• State or Municipal authories (Port of Houston Authority, for example)
• United Nations Agencies (UNCTAD, FAO, WTO, WHO, IMO, etc)
• Academic Journals papers (Google Scholar, Scopus, Web of Science,
Research Gate, Academia.edu, etc)
• Specialized media (Breakbulk Magazine, for example)
Remember! When in doubt, don’t give out. Ask your professor before
using, citing or employing data.
How to know a data set is good /reliable data?
CRAAP Test
CRAAP is an acronym for Currency, Relevance,
Authority, Accuracy, and Purpose. Use the
CRAAP Test to evaluate your sources.
• Currency: the timeliness of the information
• Relevance: the importance of the
information for your needs
• Authority: the source of the information
• Accuracy: the reliability, truthfulness, and
correctness of the content
• Purpose: the reason the information exists
Read the full text or
watch the video here:
https://researchguides
.ben.edu/sourceevaluation
How to format a citation in APA style?
1. Open Google Scholar
tab
2. Type the title or doi of
the paper or reference
you are looking for the
reference.
3. Click on the “”
quotation icons at the
bottom
4. Copy and paste the
APA style
Additional Resources -
Full White Paper available at https://info.implan.com/economic-analysis-fact-check