Buying Local: An Economic Impact Analysis of Portland, Maine

Abstract

As an intern at the Maine Center for Economic Policy (MECEP) in 2011, I was given the opportunity to work on many projects which exposed me to the variety of economic issues facing the state of Maine. One such project was commissioned by the Portland Independent Business & Community Alliance (PIBCA), a non-profit organization that supports locally owned, independent businesses in Portland, Maine. The goal of the project was to collect and analyze data on the economic impacts of buying from these types of businesses in Portland.