ECONOMIC CONTRIBUTION NORTH DAKOTA COOPERATIVES MAKE TO THE STATE ECONOMY

This report provides estimates of the contribution North Dakota's cooperatives make to the state economy. A survey was used to obtain information about cooperatives' expenditures to entities within the state during the year 2000; a total of 137 usable surveys were obtained. The North Dakota Input-Output Model was used to analyze the economic contribution of the cooperatives to the state. The results indicated that the cooperatives' direct in-state expenditures totaled $1.6 billion in 2000. The largest expenditure category was the household sector, which comprised payroll, patronage refunds, and stock retirement and accounted for 46 percent of total direct expenditures. Through the multiplier process, the initial $1.6 billion of direct impacts were estimated to lead to another $3.6 billion in secondary impacts, for a total economic contribution of $5.2 billion. Cooperative activities resulted in $1.9 billion of additional personal income and $1.2 billion of retail trade activity. These levels of economic activity were associated with more than $88 million in added state tax revenues. The cooperatives employed more than 9,000 full-time and 3,000 part-time workers, and the secondary economic effects resulting from their activities resulted in more than 42,000 secondary jobs in other sectors of the state economy.