What is development really worth to a community?

For over 25 years, EIG has helped governments, investors, and communities measure the net benefit of development — the new revenues, the true costs, and the real return on every economic development project and incentive.

Explore our services → Meet LOCI®

Economic research for developing communities

Fiscal impact

Modeling the net benefit of development

2002

Trusted since

3,440

U.S. counties modeled

State legislatures served

Areas of practice

What we do

Five ways we help the public and private sectors understand how development shapes the local economy.

Local fiscal impact analysis

Nationally recognized experts in local fiscal impact analysis, and the creators of LOCI® — the gold standard in the field. What new tax revenues, school enrollment, and public-safety costs follow a new employer? We help governments and site-selection consultants understand the true cost and net benefit of development and the incentives used to attract it.

Economic impact analysis

Traditional economic impact analysis using IMPLAN, the most powerful input-output model available. With decades of experience — including multi-regional input-output (MRIO) analysis across all 3,440 U.S. counties — we isolate the indirect and induced impacts on a community, even when the direct impact occurs elsewhere.

Fiscal analysis of tax credit programs

A leading firm in the analysis of state tax credits — including New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) and historic rehabilitation programs. We've provided economic and fiscal impact studies for the legislatures of Texas, Nevada, Utah, Louisiana, Kentucky, Florida, and Tennessee, plus investment-specific analysis under the Arkansas, Utah, and Connecticut programs.

Tax revenue forecasting

Economic cycles make revenue hard to predict — yet accurate forecasts are essential for planning and budgeting. We have years of experience building local-government forecast models for sales tax, property tax, and other revenue streams, so leaders can plan with confidence.

Local economic indexes

An economic index measures the waves of expansion and contraction in your economy. We're recognized experts in building local indexes — and we teach economic development professionals nationwide how to build and maintain their own. We can build one for you and show you how to keep it current.

Our flagship — fiscal impact analysis made easy

LOCI®

There is no other software that does what LOCI does. Model the fiscal impact of development projects against any U.S. community — with community-specific data including demographics, tax structures, and local government budgets.

✓ The nationally recognized gold standard in fiscal impact analysis

✓ Built on commuting patterns, tax digest, cost structure, and depreciation

✓ Licensed by dozens of cities and development authorities

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Trusted by

●Austin, TX & South Bend, IN

●InvestAtlanta, Georgia

●Sioux Falls Development Authority, SD

●Cities & development authorities nationwide

Principals

Led by recognized experts

Dr. Alfie Meek

President & Principal Economist

Alfie Meek is the President of the Economic Impact Group, LLC, and serves as Director of the Center for Economic Development Research at the Georgia Tech Enterprise Innovation Institute (EI²). He has nearly 30 years of experience in economic and fiscal analysis and community-based research. Before joining EI², he served for nine years as Chief Economist and Director of Economic Development for the Gwinnett County Board of Commissioners, and earlier as Research Economist for SunTrust Banks, Inc. He recently served on Governor Kemp's Coronavirus Task Force Economic Impact Committee.

His focus areas include economic and fiscal impact analysis, tax credit analysis, forecasting, econometric modeling, and the financial impacts of land use. He speaks widely on economic and fiscal impact, economic development, and the macro economy. His research on the size and economic impact of the U.S. sports industry was published in Sports Marketing Quarterly, has hundreds of academic citations, and has been referenced in USA Today, Georgia Trend, Financial Times London, Fortune, and Investor's Business Daily.

Ph.D. Agricultural Economics — UGA M.S. Business Economics — Georgia State B.S. Economics — Georgia Tech

Speaking & insights

The state of the U.S. economy

Dr. Meek speaks regularly on the national macro economy — at local chambers, private business retreats, and national conferences — translating where the economy has been and where it's headed into terms decision-makers can act on.

Between talks, he publishes a weekly blog on the economy that feeds and supports his speaking.

Chamber events Business retreats National conferences

Weekly blog

Alfie Meek on the economy

A weekly read on the U.S. economy — clear, current, and grounded in the data. Published on Substack.

Read the blog →

alfiemeek.com

Our clients

Trusted across the public & private sectors

From state legislatures and development authorities to leading firms in structured tax-credit finance.

Contact EIG

Let's talk about your project

Reach out and your message goes straight to someone who can give you the answers you need. We typically respond within 24 hours.

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How to reach us

Email us anytime at
impact@economicimpact.com

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Our address

Economic Impact Group, LLC
P.O. Box 112, Flowery Branch, GA 30542