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| FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
May 28, 2010 |
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Contact Information:
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Austin Marks
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Greater New Orleans, Inc. to Conduct Economic Impact Analysis of Oil Spill
Work Will Provide Objective Basis for Understanding Full Financial Impact of Disaster
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NEW ORLEANS -- The oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico is a highly complex event, in some ways more so than Hurricane Katrina. A major source of this complexity is that the magnitude and the extent of the economic impact are unclear, but
potentially broad. There will be:
- First order impacts on industries like fisheries, that are closed
- Second order impacts on industries like processors, that cannot get sufficient product
- Third order impacts on industries like hospitality, that will see a drop in activity due to damage to the brand of the region
Complexity notwithstanding, one of the major lessons of Katrina is that it is imperative to measure and quantify this economic impact early and accurately. Failure to quantify impact in a credible way will lead to faltering in the recovery process.
With this in mind, GNO, Inc. is immediately commissioning an Economic Impact Analysis to describe and quantify total cost of the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill.
"One of the great lessons of Katrina was that we need to fully understand impact in order to fully engage in recovery," said Michael Hecht, President & CEO of GNO, Inc. "This economic impact analysis will give us an empirical basis for understanding the true cost of the oil spill, and then for
helping the entire region recover."
This quantification will take into account first through third order industry impacts, as described above. The quantification will further consider timing, by:
- Taking into account immediate impact
- Making an estimate of present value of long-term impact, with assumptions about the ultimate nature and impact of the spill
GNO, Inc. will work with local partners, such as the South Louisiana Economic Council, in order to reach all affected communities, even in areas outside of GNO, Inc.'s regional boundaries.
"Successful completion of this analysis will establish an objective, empirical data set for understanding and acting on economic impact of the oil spill," said Dale Benoit, Chairman of the GNO, Inc. Public Policy Committee. "It will provide critical information to all stakeholders - of a kind that
was not available after Katrina."
To conduct this analysis, GNO, Inc. will be retaining Innovative Emergency Management, Inc. (IEM), an internationally-recognized risk management company, with roots in Louisiana. IEM has over 25 years of experience, and was involved in predicting Katrina: IEM's Hurricane Pam simulation, conducted
in 2004, was a scientific "bulls-eye" in predicting the consequences from this national catastrophic event. IEM's further experience includes producing rapid economic loss estimations for Hurricanes Gustav and Ike in 2008. IEM also estimated economic losses from the devastating earthquake in Haiti
in 2010.
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About Greater New Orleans, Inc.
The GNO, Inc. Mission is to serve as the catalyst for wealth creation in the Greater New Orleans region. GNO, Inc. will accomplish this by pursuing an aggressive agenda of business development - marketing the region - and product development - improving regional business conditions through
policy, workforce and research initiatives.
The GNO, Inc. Vision is for the Greater New Orleans region to fulfill its potential as one of the best places in the country to grow a company, and raise a family. The ultimate indication of success for GNO, Inc. will be the presence of a robust and growing middle class in southeastern Louisiana.
More information can be found at www.gnoinc.org.
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365 Canal Street, Suite 2300, New Orleans, LA 70130
Phone: 504.527.6900
Fax: 504.527.6970
www.gnoinc.org
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