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RUN - RESEARCH UNIVERSITIES' NEWSLETTER VOL 17 | MARCH 26, 2021

President's Message In this issue of RUN I am pleased to release the results of a study by the Conference Board of Canada (CBoC). It finds that stimulus spending on our post-secondary system will have the greatest immediate impact on enduring and inclusive recovery in our province.  The executive summary of the CBoC study and the full report are available on the RUCBC website. The CBoC assessed the impacts of investments in post-secondary against other common stimulus measures such as transportation investments and tax cuts. The report finds that for every $1M of new spending, post-secondary education yields the biggest immediate economic return in terms of jobs, GDP growth, and revenue to government. Long-term, the CBoC concludes that investments in transportation and post-secondary education top the list of stimulus measures.   In addition to calculating short and long-term economic benefits, the CBoC also took a close look at the diversity impacts of stimulus spending. It found that women, immigrants, racialized minorities and Indigenous Peoples see greater job benefits from investments in post-secondary education compared to other stimulus measures. The CBoC study, commissioned by RUCBC, was prompted by the findings of an opinion survey of leading European economic experts which shows that investment in education and training is seen to be excellent in terms of speed of implementation, economic multiplier, climate impact potential, and overall desirability to the survey respondents. The CBoC report confirms the opinion of the European survey respondents and shows the wisdom of making post-secondary education and training a key pillar of British Columbia provincial economic strategy.   Below are some key findings from the report. Be Safe! Stay curious! Max Blouw, RUCBC President 

- Highlights from - Directing the COVID Recovery Assessing the Impacts of Potential Stimulus Policies in British Columbia   The Conference Board of Canada compared post-secondary education investment with three conventional stimulus measures: transportation infrastructure, personal tax cuts, and business tax cuts.

SHORT-TERM IMPACT (1 YEAR)   Investing in PSE institutions would result in the most diverse short-term employment and income benefits for women, immigrants, Indigenous people, and racialized minorities.

Stimulus spending on British Columbia’s post-secondary education institutions would generate the largest short-term economic impact per $1 million of investment. This is true whether measured in jobs, gross domestic product, or government revenues:

LONG-TERM IMPACT (40 YEARS)    A $1-million investment in PSE would generate the second largest long-term economic impact, adding about $501,379 per year to BC’s economy over 40 years. The same investment in transportation infrastructure would generate the largest long-term impact, increasing GDP by $666,459 per year.

More information and findings are available in the full Conference Board Report and the Executive Summary.

Contact us: info@rucbc.ca  The Research Universities’ Council of British Columbia (RUCBC) represents the interests of BC's research universities. RUCBC's mandate is to identify issues facing the universities, provide system-wide leadership in the development of relevant public policy and communicate on behalf of the university system.