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While some may dismiss economic resilience as an overplayed buzzword, the concept has been central to economic development long before it became a cliché. Building resilient communities, people, and businesses remains our core mission regardless of terminology.
Economic developers have long worked to diversify local economies and workforces, strengthening their ability to weather various stressors — economic, social, natural, and political. This approach has helped communities prepare their businesses for changing conditions.
A community’s investment in economic resilience and redundancy has become a top priority for company executives making location decisions. This makes these investments crucial for economic developers focused on business attraction and retention.
However, implementing the physical infrastructure improvements necessary to minimize the impact of something like climate change can be challenging. The associated costs, timeframes, and uncertainties can complicate decision-making when communities evaluate their options.
Understanding the cost-benefit ratio of major infrastructure investments can help clarify and prioritize efforts. A recent US Chamber of Commerce report finds that resiliency planning and climate adaptation efforts often yield economic benefits that exceed investment costs.
While these findings draw from broad case studies, they offer valuable data insights for economic developers working to enhance community and economic resilience while demonstrating its value.
- Economic Savings: As the saying goes, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Inaction carries its own costs, including damages, cleanup, job losses, reduced incomes, and other economic impacts. The report finds that every $1 invested in resilience and disaster preparedness saves $13 in economic costs. (US Chamber of Commerce Report, page 4)
- Job Preservation and Creation: Preemptive investments to protect built, physical, and community environments can preserve existing jobs and create new ones. These initiatives can also attract workforce talent by demonstrating proactive community planning. Research indicates that a $10.8 billion investment in Miami to prepare for a Category 4 hurricane would prevent the loss of approximately 184,000 jobs. (US Chamber of Commerce Report, page 5)
- Increased Production and Income: Preserving jobs helps maintain and increase economic production (GDP) and resident income. It also protects property values, generating additional municipal revenue that supports further economic growth and stability. The same Miami investment would save $26 billion in production and $17 billion in income. (US Chamber of Commerce Report, page 5)
In our work at Camoin Associates, we have seen increasing requests from communities seeking to measure the fiscal (tax revenue) and economic (jobs, earnings, GDP) impacts of resiliency initiatives and disasters.
Recently, we completed an impact analysis of the summer 2024 tornado that struck the City of Rome in Oneida County, NY. This analysis provided crucial documentation for financial support requests, demonstrated the County’s role in recovery efforts, and offered a comprehensive assessment of the disaster’s impact.
Another analysis we developed for Plum Island, a barrier beach off the coast of Massachusetts, used coastal flood projections to quantify the fiscal and economic impacts of future coastal flooding. The analysis used hypothetical future outcomes based on different management approaches to calculate the potential impacts.
Resilience investments reduce disaster impacts, resulting in lower economic costs, fewer job losses, reduced population decline, higher income, and faster recovery times — all of which support economic development and community well-being.
Economic developers must be prepared to quantify these investment impacts, making a compelling case for widespread preparation and prevention. By demonstrating the tangible benefits of resilience planning, we can help stakeholders understand why proactive investment serves the entire community’s interests.
Next month, I’ll be writing an article about the role of economic developers in disaster preparedness and what can be done today to prepare for tomorrow.
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