Estimating Economic Impact of State University in the Local Economy: A Direct Expenditures Analysis

The focus of this study was to estimate the economic impact of Romblon State University on the economy of the province of Romblon in terms of the university's direct spending activity. The researchers realized that determining the economic impact of the University would be beneficial to the university itself, to the community where the university is located, to the funding institutions, to the students and other researchers. The general objective of the study was to determine the economic impact of Romblon State University in the province of Romblon. To answer the main objective the following specific objectives were established: identify the source of fund of Romblon State University, determine the direct expenses as to operational expenditure and; capital expenditures; define the spending multiplier that will use to calculate in estimating the impact. The research approached used in this study was quantitative and descriptive. The study used secondary data in conducting the research. The ten fiscal years' financial statements of Romblon State University were gathered and scrutinized to meet the objectives of the study. The Keynesian model was employed to determine the spending multiplier and used to compute for in estimating the economic impact. The use of regression analysis was also done to analyze the significance of each variable used in determining the economic impact models. According to the analysis of the secondary data and findings of this study, the existence of Romblon State University in Romblon province greatly impacts the economy of the province with regards to its direct expenditures. The coefficient, as a result of regression analysis in this study, defines the estimated direct impact of spending activity of Romblon State University on the economy of Romblon. The index measure employed in this study finds the increased and decreased change in proxies' contribution to the economy. The spin-off activity of every peso that the university is spending within the province creates an impact on the economy of the province.