Base Closure Impacts and the General Effects of Military Installations on Local Private Employment

Abstract

This study explores general effects of military installations on local employment, and the special case of Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC). A partial adjustment construct is used. Both random and fixed effects specifications of the disturbance term are evaluated. The analysis also includes levels and changes forms of the model. Defense personnel changes are decomposed into positive, negative, and BRAC related components, then examined for asymmetrical effects attributable to the public goods and community infrastructure vacuum brought about through installation downsizing. Economic assistance, and facilities reutilization in BRAC communities are also considered, as are the elasticities of defense employment multipliers with respect to industry specialization and military vs. civilian workforce composition. Instrumental variable techniques are employed. A novel panel data set incorporating 21 years of county level data allows comprehensive examination of defense related employment trends across all 50 states. The collection of sub-county defense personnel figures addresses a shortcoming of other county-level impact studies, which reconcile community employment changes against base closure personnel losses, without consideration of personnel dynamics at other military installations within the same county. There is evidence of asymmetrical relationships between military personnel level changes, and local community employment. While this supports the proposition of favorable effects through reutilization of public and community infrastructure, economic assistance and the practice of outsourcing defense support functions are also identified as contributors to this condition. Results also suggest regional industry specialization and workforce composition have little influence on the effect of local defense employment changes.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Dec 01, 2001
Accession Number
ADA399397

Entities

People

  • Patrick E. Poppert

Organizations

  • Air Force Institute of Technology

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Biomedical
  • Energy and Power Technologies
  • Engineered Resilient Systems
  • Human Systems
  • Space

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Air Force
  • Air Force Facilities
  • Base Closures
  • Business Administration
  • Commerce
  • Employment
  • Geography
  • Investments
  • Management Personnel
  • Military Facilities
  • Military Personnel
  • National Security
  • Organizational Structure
  • Personnel Management
  • Public Policy
  • Recreation
  • Urban Areas

Readers

  • Economics
  • Environmental Remediation and Restoration.
  • Naval Personnel Management