TITLE:
The Economic Contribution of Natural Resources to a State Economy: A South Carolina Case Study
AUTHORS:
David B. Willis, Thomas J. Straka
KEYWORDS:
Natural Resources, South Carolina, Input-Output Analysis, Economic Contribution
JOURNAL NAME:
Natural Resources,
Vol.8 No.3,
March
24,
2017
ABSTRACT: The structure of state or sub-state regional economies is heavily influenced by its natural resource endowment. Input-output analysis is often used to estimate the economic contribution of various sectors to a state’s economy. We apply input-output analysis to South Carolina’s economy to estimate the contribution of natural resource-based sectors to the overall economy. The natural resource-based sectors consist of six mutually exclusive sectors: fishing, hunting, and wildlife viewing; coastal tourism; commercial fisheries; boat industry; mining; and forestry. The total economic contribution of these six natural resource-based sectors is $33.4 billion, representing 8.3% of gross state product and 8.6% of all state employment.