Penn's statewide economic impact grows 46.5 percent

The University’s 2010 Economic Impact Report released on Wednesday revealed that Penn is more powerful than ever in Pennsylvania.

The report — conducted by economic consulting firm Econsult Corp. — showed that Penn contributes $14 billion each year to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Of that amount, $9.5 billion goes to Philadelphia.

Since the last report in 2005, Penn’s economic impact on Pennsylvania has increased by 46.5 percent, which translates to a 7.9 percent compound annual growth rate.

Penn employs more than 31,000 people, whose pay totals $2.3 billion per year. Currently, the University is the largest private employer in the city and second largest in the state, after Wal-Mart.

Penn President Amy Gutmann said “the most important point of all the details is how much we, as an anchor institution in Philadelphia and Pennsylvania, contribute to economic growth and innovation.”

Penn supports a total of 57,200 jobs directly through employment, and indirectly through retail, construction, hospitality, real estate, manufacturing, architecture and trucking.

The University’s economic impact in the region has also been helped by federal funds. In 2009, Penn became one of the largest non-governmental recipients of funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, receiving $186 million for research.

While the stimulus package was an isolated contribution, Gutmann said research funding has continued to grow in the past five years.

She added that researchers at Penn have aimed to receive long-term funding for their work, rather than relying on one-time grants.

Overall, Penn generates 145,000 Pennsylvania jobs directly and indirectly, which equates to wages and salaries of $6.1 billion and state taxes totaling $382 million.

Spending by students, Penn families, hospital patients, visitors, faculty and staff totaled $437 million.

From fiscal years 2006 to 2010, Penn has generated $46 million in licensing revenue, as the University has secured 262 U.S. patents and generated 1637 invention disclosures.

Please note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.