A multi-modality approach to the regional economic impact of plant closure in the Mahoning Valley : the General Motors Assembly of Lordstown, OH

Abstract

This study seeks to explore the expected impact on the Youngstown-Warren regional area of a closure of the General Motors assembly plant in Lordstown, Ohio. Through the course of performing this impact study, the paper has also attempted to expose the true importance of performing such studies as well as comparing methods for evaluating final results of initial shifts. The primary methods for analysis are in economic base model and an input-output model, these methods being both described and then compared in their results. The construction and implementation of the economic base model shows the benefits of a somewhat faster model in garnering quick numbers from which sound decisions can be made. It also attempts to show some of the pitfalls of such a model; one that lacks the dept of other such models. The input-output models shows through its construction the benefits of a more in-depth model (by comparison to the economic based model), but also the difficulty that lack of adequate information can pose to such models.