Abstract

Employment Composition and its Impact on St. Louis Taxable Sales
Track: Census and Statistical Data
Authors: David Mitchell

This paper uses census data to examine how the composition and employment levels of different industries in the St. Louis MSA contribute to taxable sales, and hence sales tax revenue. Of particular interest is how changes in these variables over time have influenced taxable sales as measured at the county and sub-county, i.e. zip code level. This presentation will use GIS data in ArcGIS 10 and its spatial analysis tools to measure how changes in the composition of the St. Louis economy contribute to taxable sales. Furthermore, ArcGIS 10 will be used to generate maps to present the results. This research will provide policy makers with the tools needed to understand how these dynamic changes in employment impact taxable sales and hence sales tax revenue. This gives policy makers another metric in determining which class and size of firms/industries are 'worth pursuing' in an economic development sense.