Dunedin reaped economic benefits to the
value of $754.2 million from the University of Otago last
year, according to a university report.
This was equivalent to about 17% of the city's gross domestic
product.
The university's Economic Impact Report for 2010 was tabled
at the university council meeting yesterday.
University of Otago planning and funding director David
Thompson told council members the report estimated the
economic impact of the university and its campuses in
Dunedin, Christchurch, Wellington, Auckland and Invercargill.
The Dunedin campus was by far the most significant, with
about 93% of the university's students and 86% of its staff
situated there.
The report first considers the "actual expenditure" of the
university and the estimated expenditure of its staff and
students, resulting in an overall estimate of "direct
expenditure" of about $858.7 million.
Flow-on, or indirect, economic impacts of the university were
assessed and "total expenditure" was calculated at about $1.6
billion.
The report said the total expenditure result estimates the
"global economic impact" generated by the university's
activities.
Mr Thompson said the key figure outlining the economic
benefits to Dunedin was the "total value added" estimation,
which was about $754.2 million.
The report says the "total value added" estimation is
calculated on the value that remains in local economies after
"economic leakages" are taken into consideration, along with
the downstream employment effect of the university's
expenditure.
"Economic leakages" include items bought in an area but
produced outside that area. In these cases, some of the value
of the item will flow outside the area.
The Dunedin economy had the equivalent of 11,892 full-time
jobs supported through direct university spending. The figure
for Invercargill was 48.
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