SHELTER FROM THE STORM
The local economy fell into a recession three years ago, and unemployment in the Boston area jumped from 2.2 percent in 2000 to 5.0 percent in 2003. But Harvard served as a stabilizing presence—providing jobs for over 16,000 University employees.
In fact, the report argues that the true number of Boston-area residents who can attribute their paychecks to Harvard’s largesse is much higher, since the University purchases nearly $900 million in goods and services from local vendors and construction firms.
In total, the report estimates that the University generates more than 48,000 Boston-area jobs. That figure includes the employment rolls of companies based on Harvard technology or started by faculty and graduates.
For example, faculty-launched Biogen Idec—the third-largest biotech firm in the world—employs 1,400 in the Boston area.
But Mary Power, the University’s senior director of community relations, said that the 48,000-jobs figure did not include all jobs at businesses started by Harvard grads—for example, the hundreds of positions at office supplies giant Staples, which was started by an alum.
The 66-page report comes on the heels of a similar study released by Harvard and seven other Boston-area research institutions last year, showing that the universities generate more than $7 billion for the local economy annually. Higher education is the greater Boston’s second largest employer, after hospitals.
The last time the University commissioned a Harvard-specific study was in 1999, before the economic downturn highlighted the higher education industry’s role as a stabilizing force for Massachusetts.
Power said that city leaders are cognizant of Harvard’s revenue-generating role, and she sees “a growing appreciation for the fact that research is an economic driver.” The new study “allows us to speak more crisply about the specific economic impact that Harvard has,” Power said.
All three reports came from New York-based Appleseed, Inc. Power said the University looked to a private firm to conduct the study—rather than Harvard’s own research centers—because of Appleseed chief Hugh O’Neill’s extensive experience in collecting economic impact data.
The University paid O’Neill’s firm $30,000 to conduct the study, Power said.
—Zachary M. Seward contributed to the reporting of this article.
—Staff writer Daniel J. Hemel can be reached at hemel@fas.harvard.edu.