Practice Areas
Public Policy and Economic Analysis
The dynamic nature of today’s economy presents policymakers, businesses, and investors with significant opportunities–provided they grasp the likely impact of changes before they occur.
When assessing changes that stem from proposed legislation, a business expansion, demographic shifts, loss of a major employer, or any variety of sources, our team can provide the rigorous and unbiased research that leaders need for informed decision-making. We do so by employing advanced techniques that combine:
Sophisticated economic models that project future investment, consumer expenditures, residential and industrial development, employment, and other drivers of economic activity and tax revenue.
State-specific fiscal models that estimate the tax revenue (from state, local, and federal taxes) associated with different scenarios.
State-specific expenditure models that incorporate changes in both pricing and demand for services.
New Resource
Our Economic Conditions Monitor keeps you on top of key trends in the U.S., and in Michigan and Illinois.
Service Specializations
Analyzing the economics of agricultural and natural resource issues can be particularly challenging. These studies require careful study and an unbiased, conservative approach that follows the data. Clients who seek to understand the economic impact of agricultural output or invasive species and groups that strive to communicate the strategic importance of natural resources rely on the experts at AEG. Our team has real-world experience with the practices required to accurately research fiscal impacts in each of these areas.
Because even the best data can be counterproductive when misunderstood, we also provide our clients with a clearly written methodology to support a common understanding among board members, community stakeholders, or the public at large.
AEG’s benchmarking and business climate studies quantify and compare specific indicators of interest across multiple geographies.
Benchmarking studies, for example, can inform government officials regarding the competitiveness of their state’s tax burdens, or show them how their students’ test performance ranks nationally.
Business climate studies explore all of the costs that matter to businesses. This type of analysis enables entrepreneurs to make informed decisions about location and other factors critical to their success. Business climate studies also help policymakers to understand what improvements are needed to enhance the business climate.
New projects and policy changes are designed to produce positive outcomes, yet they can produce negative outcomes, as well. Opportunity costs are one such negative, describing the loss of any potential alternative actions. Cost-benefit analyses are conducted to determine if the positives outweigh the negatives before committing to a course of action.
The expert analysts at AEG conduct cost-benefit analyses designed to clearly and accurately inform policymakers, businesses, and citizens. By carefully examining financial and other requirements along with the advantages and disadvantages involved in pursuing a new project or policy change, we can determine if the action is worthwhile as compared to the status quo or to alternative ideas.
Our team’s commitment to thorough and well-explained analysis ensures that policymakers understand all aspects of a project before they make a decision to move forward with a project or pass a particular law.
For more information please visit our Data Analytics page.
AEG’s economic impact analyses estimate the employment and/or earnings impact of an event, program, project, development, or institution within a defined geographical area. Through our careful research, transparent methodology, and well-explained findings, policymakers and stakeholders can understand the true impact of a business, project, or special event on an area’s economy.
Our fiscal impact studies quantify the impact of new or existing policies, businesses, institutions, or events on a government municipality’s revenue or expenditures. The expert analysts at AEG carefully study and clearly present data that enables government officials to evaluate and plan effectively before pursuing a new development or project that affects tax revenues, service fees, or the cost of providing services.
For more information, please visit our Community and Economic Development page.
Policy Area Expertise
K-12 financing comprises a large portion of local and state government budgets. AEG has the experience and expertise needed to accurately model changes to education financing, and to identify how these changes will impact government, school, and taxpayer resources.
AEG has gained extensive expertise in the economics of the energy market, and in the regulatory environment under which utilities operate. This industry expertise enables us to model regulatory changes (for example, laws limiting carbon emissions) and to identify the impact these changes will have on utilities, rate payers, and taxpayers.
We further specialize in tracking the ongoing transition from internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles to electric vehicles (EV). AEG’s public policy and economic impact experts combine their deep knowledge of U.S. and state energy policy with our market and industry analysis team’s automotive expertise. Through this multi-disciplinary approach, AEG brings to bear an unmatched level of analytical knowledge to better analyze and predict policy directions based on what’s happening with consumers, manufacturers, and dealer groups in real-world market settings.
The cost of and access to affordable health insurance and quality medical care is a growing concern for many Americans, and for many government and business leaders. Because the health insurance market is extremely complicated, AEG’s clients rely upon our extensive knowledge of the industry’s economic and regulatory environment.
AEG’s experts are skilled in economic modeling, providing unrivaled qualitative assessments of changes to the health insurance market.
Anderson Economic Group has years of experience studying how federal, state, and local policies impact housing markets across the U.S., and comparing those policies to identify which might show promise for a given community.
Our policy analysts identify an area’s unique set of regulations, demographics, geography, and economy to assess the locality’s needs with regard to housing affordability and availability, homeowner tax impacts, local tax base considerations, worker commutes and transportation, housing values, and much more. By relying upon our expertise, local regulators and planners are able to make decisions that build upon the experiences of other communities with a track record of success.
Even seemingly small tax policy changes can have a big impact on the amount an individual or business owes in taxes, and tax burdens can vary by size of business or among industries. AEG’s experts possess a thorough knowledge of tax policy, and they are skilled in estimating the impact of tax changes on the burden borne by businesses and/or individuals.
Trade associations, business groups, and individuals trust Anderson Economic Group to identify the policies that will affect them most, and they consistently use the credible information we provide to inform discussion in the political arena.
Anderson Economic Group also provides expert testimony and reports for use in court and legislative proceedings, as well as with market & industry analyses in areas that include real estate feasibility studies and economic development strategies for localities throughout the United States.
Rigorous Methodology, Credible Results
Anderson Economic Group insists on a rigorous methodology for our economic and fiscal analyses. In particular:
- We use custom simulation models that are specifically tailored to the needs of each project.
- We do not use “black box” models that are undocumented, nor do we simply plug in “multipliers” that come from other sources.
- We properly account for direct and indirect effects, substitution or displacement of existing activity, and migration of customers and workers to new locations.
- We do not use hidden multipliers, double-count benefits, ignore costs, or otherwise exaggerate results.
- Our insistence on these standards results in high-quality analyses, on which knowledgeable stakeholders will place a high degree of credibility.
For more information on retaining Anderson Economic Group, please see Engaging our Services.
CEO Patrick Anderson discusses AEG’s public policy track record
Anderson Economic Group Consultants are real people analyzing real world data.
We work one on one with you to identify unique challenges and apply industry expertise to solve your most complex business problems.