A Systematic Comparison of the REMI and IMPLAN Models: The Case of Southern Nevada

Abstract

Despite the growing popularity of ready-made, regional economic impact models, few performance comparisons of the available models exist. Most studies have either examined the general characteristics and usability of the models or presented a specific application of a model. This paper systematically compares the performance of the two most widely used models: REMI and IMPLAN. A recent comparison of REMI and IMPLAN contained methodological errors that precluded a systematic evaluation. The areas used in the comparison in this paper are one urban county and two rural counties in southern Nevada. In addition to presenting the comparison of REMI and IMPLAN, this paper discusses the general applicability of the comparison to other models and establishes criteria that could be used in future comparisons of regional economic impact models.