Illustration of how to use the Regional Economic Model Inc. (REMI) to calculate the economic impact of Brazilian immigrants in Boston.

1. imagine all the people –
Brazilian
Foreign-Born Immigrants in
Boston
Authors:
ALVARO LIMA
MARTINA TOPONARSKI
NANETTE DYER BLAKE
DOMINIC MODICAMORE, BOSTON REDEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY
RESEACH DIVISION
SENIOR ECONOMIST ALVARO LIMA, DIRECTOR OF RESEARCH
THOMAS M. MENINO, Mayor JOHN F. PALMIERI,
Director

2.  The BRA was created by the state in the 1950’s as an urban renewal
authority.
 Cleared and re-developed several decaying inner city neighborhoods
in the 1950’s and 1960’s.
 Has since changed its functions to include planning, economic
development, job training, and real estate development.
 Unique structure, in which it is independent from city government,
generating its own revenues through development fees and leasing
real estate.
 The BRA owns and manages three Industrial parks with over 4
million square feet of industrial and office space in the city.
 The largest industrial park, Boston Marine Industrial Park, is home to
more then 180 businesses located in 38 buildings on a 191 acre
site. Businesses include printers, fish processors, the Harpoon Beer
brewery, a ship repair facility, and the Boston Design Center.
 The BRA also owns and operates the Charlestown Navy Yard a now-
defunct defense facility. Today , the site is home to a mixed-use
development that includes housing as well as bio-medical facilities
operated by Massachusetts General Hospital.

3.  Boston
 Historic economic trends
 Brazilian Immigrants in Boston
 Project background
 Population Characteristics
 Educational Attainment
 Occupations
 Self-Employment
 Economic Impact of Brazilian Immigrants in Boston
 Impact of Consumer Spending by Brazilian Immigrants
 Impact of Brazilian Owned Businesses
 Total Economic Impact of Brazilian Immigrants in Boston

4.  Boston, the capital of Massachusetts,
is New England’s largest city and a
major U.S. center of financial,
professional, medical, educational,
and high technology activity.
 The city itself is home to roughly
600,000 residents and its
metropolitan area is home to almost
5.8 million.
 There are roughly 673,000 jobs within
the city and roughly 4.8 million in its
metro area.
 Boston is one of only three major
city’s to have more jobs than
residents.

5.  The city and metro area is also home to
one of the most highly educated and
skilled workforces in the country, and
thus, is an attractive location for many
industries that rely on this type of
workforce.
 Even though Boston’s highly skilled
workforce makes it an attractive city for
business location, it’s economy is still one
of the most cyclical in the nation.
 During periods of national declines, the
Boston region is often hit the hardest. And
during periods of national economic
prosperity it is often one of the regions of
strongest growth.

6.  During the mid 1980’s, after a long period of
economic decline, the Boston region led the
state into what was referred as the
“Massachusetts Miracle”; a period of
incredible economic growth.
 This growth was fueled by innovations in the
rapidly advancing technology industries,
particularly the development of the mini-
computer. Local companies such as Wang
Computers and Digital were at the forefront of
these innovations.
 As these industries became obsolete,
particularly by further advancements that led
to the development of the personal computer
in the late 1980’s, the Boston region was
plunged into one of the greatest economic
declines since the great depression.
 Between 1988 an 1994, the Boston area lost
almost 15% of all its jobs. The losses were
spread across all sectors of it’s economy.

7.  During the mid 1990’s, Boston’s
economy began to recover. The recovery
was led again by technological
advancements. This time it was software
development and life science
advancements.
 Companies such as Boston Scientific,
EMC, and Genzyme underwent
tremendous growth during this period.
 Boston was also able to capitalize on the
strengthening financial markets, because
of its strong leadership role in money
management, particularly mutual funds.
Boston based companies such as Fidelity
Investment, State Street, Putnam
Investments, and MFS also grew at rapid
rates during this period.
 The City’s many highly regarded medical and educational institutions, such as
Mass General Hospital, Boston Children’s Hospital, Brigham and Woman’s
Hospital, Harvard University, MIT, Boston University, and Northeastern also
began major expansions.

8.  During the 1994 through 2000 period, the City of
Boston alone added roughly 100,000 jobs, and
the state as a whole added over 450,000 jobs.
 Per capita personal income was also growing
rapidly, increasing by 46% in just 6 years in the
Boston Metropolitan Area.
 Consequently, during this period, housing prices
increased by over 100% in many Boston area
communities.
 The growth ended with the national recession in
2001-2002, and once again the recession was far
deeper in Massachusetts than almost all other
regions of the country.
 During the 2000 to 2003 period, Boston and its
surrounding metropolitan area lost among the
greatest number of jobs of any area in the country.

9.  The city of Boston alone lost over 50,000 jobs in
just three years and Massachusetts lost around
200,000 jobs.
 The job loss in the City of Boston was greatest in
financial services, professional services,
Business services and travel and tourism.
 The city’s office market stood as a good indicator
of job loss. Vacancy rates in Downtown Boston’s
office market went from about 1.5% in the 4Q of
2000 to about 15% in the 2Q of 2003.
 The Boston and Massachusetts economy was
again slow to recover, but by early 2004 began to
show signs of growth again. The growth has been
led by the city’s strong health care and education
sectors. The financial services, professional
services, and travel and tourism sectors have
also showed moderate growth the past two
years.
 The very latest indicators, however, show a
softening economy again with flat growth rates
projected for 2008.

10.  “Imagine all the people” is a series produced by the Boston Redevelopment
Authority Research Division for the Mayor’s Office of New Bostonians that
highlights immigrant communities in Boston and their contributions to
Boston’s social, cultural and economic life.
 As part of the series and as one of the top ten foreign-born communities in
Boston, the Brazilian community was the first community we analyzed.
BOSTON’S FOREIGN-BORN TOP TEN COUNTRIES OF
ORIGIN
Haiti 10%
Dominican Republic 8%
China* 7%
Vietnam 6%
El Salvador 4%
Jamaica 4%
Cape Verde 4%
Colombia 3%
Ireland 3%
Brazil 3%
0% 2% 4% 6% 8% 10% 12%
*China mainland only, excludes Hong Kong and Taiwan
Source: U.S. Census 2000, BRA Research Division Analysis

11.  For the analysis of Brazilian foreign-born population we used 2000 Census
Public Use Microdata (5%) Sample (PUMS), and performed several
tabulations in order to find out the main socio-demographic characteristics:
 POPULATION CHARACTERISTICS
 EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT
 OCCUPATIONS
 SELF-EMPLOYMENT
 REMI was used to calculate the economic contributions of Brazilian foreign-
born people and Brazilian owned businesses in Boston. This was a two-part
Analysis.
 CONUSMER SPENDING IMPACT
 ENTREPRENEURSHIP IMPACT

12.  Over 7,000 foreign-born
Brazilians live in the city of
Boston. Massachusetts as a
whole, with over 60,000
Brazilians, ranks 2nd among all
states in the US behind only
Florida.
 Most are male (53%), single
(45%) and 50% are between
the ages 20 and 34 – a greater
portion of young adults than in
the general Boston Population
(33%)
 Fifteen percent of Brazilian
foreign-born immigrants in
Boston are U.S. citizens by
naturalization.
Sources: U.S. Census 2000, PUMS (5%) Sample, BRA Research Division Analysis

13. Source: U.S. Bureau of Census, BRA Research Division
Analysis, Digital Cartography & GIS

14.  About 19% of Brazilians in Boston have less than a high school education. This is roughly
the same as all foreign-born but much higher then the native-born (4%).
 Roughly 18% of Brazilians in Boston have a Bachelor’s degree compared with 23% for the
native- born and 15% for all foreign born.
 Only 6% of Brazilians in Boston have a Masters degree or higher, a much lower proportion
than that of the native-born (17%) and all foreign-born (13%) populations.
Sources: U.S. Census 2000, PUMS (5%) Sample, BRA Research Division Analysis

15.  A little over two thirds of Brazilians in Boston are employed.
 The labor force participation rate of Brazilians is 75%, compared with 63% for the rest of the
population.
 Brazilians in Boston are more likely to be working in service and construction occupations
then the remaining population and less likely to be in managerial and professional and
technical and sales occupations.
Sources: U.S. Census 2000, PUMS (5%) Sample, BRA Research Division Analysis

16.  More than 13% of Brazilians in Boston are self-employed, a rate more than
three times that of the foreign–born population and almost four times the
self-employment rate of the native population.
 The high self-employment rate may be explained by high rates of financial
capital among Brazilians as well as the fact that they emigrated from a
country that also has a high self-employment rate.
S

17.  Two-Part Analysis

18.  Brazilian immigrants contribute to Boston’s economy through their spending.
 REMI Policy Insight was used to measure the economic impact that consumer spending by
Brazilians in Boston have on the local and state economy.
 Only Brazilians living in the city of Boston were modeled, but there impact is shown for all of
Massachusetts.
 The consumer expenditure survey was used to determine what proportion of consumer
spending went to the different categories of goods and services.
 Government spending of the sales tax revenue from the consumer spending was also
modeled.
 A counterintuative method was performed to measure the impact since the spending is
already taking place we need to remove it from the economy to measure its impact.

19. Population 7,173
Average Household Size (National Average) 2.7
Number of Households 2,657
Per Capita Income (2005 Estimates Based on National Data) $ 24,714
Average Household Income $ 66,728
Total Gross Income $ 177,274,143
Amount of Income Sent Back to Brazil* $ 10,902,960
Amount of Gross Income Retained Locally $ 166,371,183
Effective Amount of Income Spent in Boston (After
Taxes) $ 132,334,548
* $342 / month per household sent back to Brazil
Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, BRA Research Division Analysis

20. Percent of Total
Expenditures
(Consumer Exp
REMI Variable Detail Survey) 2005 State Sales Tax Total
Consumer Spending (amount) Vehicles and Parts 0.134 16,846,188 886,641 17,732,829.39
Computers and
Consumer Spending (amount) Furniture 0.029 3,645,817 191,885 3,837,701.88
Consumer Spending (amount) Other Durables 0.014 1,760,049 92,634 1,852,683.67
Consumer Spending (amount) Food and Beverages 0.147 19,453,179 398,790 19,851,968.67
Consumer Spending (amount) Clothing and Shoes 0.039 5,161,047 5,161,047.36
Consumer Spending (amount) Gasoline and Oil 0.028 3,705,367 389,064 4,094,430.91
Consumer Spending (amount) Fuel Oil and Coal 0.01 1,323,345 1,323,345.48
Consumer Spending (amount) Other Non-durables 0.017 2,249,687 112,484 2,362,171.68
Consumer Spending (amount) Housing 0.296 39,171,026 39,171,026.12
Consumer Spending (amount) Household Operation 0.018 2,382,022 2,382,021.86
Consumer Spending (amount) Transportation 0.01 1,323,345 1,323,345.48
Consumer Spending (amount) Medical Care 0.048 6,352,058 6,352,058.29
Consumer Spending (amount) Other Services 0.21 27,790,255 27,790,255.02
TOTAL 1 131,163,387 2,071,499 132,334,548
Government Spending state 9,517,013
Suffolk 1,016,945
4 Co. Region 4,955,655
Rest of MA 3, 544,414

21. Number of Jobs Supported in Massachusetts 1,104
Gross Regional Product Contribution (Massachusetts) $ 123,646,096
Total Output Contribution (Massachusetts) $ 203,505,300
Indirect Personal Income Generated (Massachusetts) $ 38,060,000
Total State Income Tax Paid $ 7,445,514
Total State Sales Taxes Paid $ 2,071,499
Total Federal Income Taxes Paid $ 26,591,121

22.  Brazilians contribute to Boston’s economy through entrepreneurship.
 They own more than 150 small businesses in the greater Boston area
specializing in restaurants, grocery, travel and insurance among other
industry sectors.
 Combined these businesses:
 Represent more than $40 million in annual sales;
 Employ more than 400 people;
 Contribute $24 million to the regional product;
 Contribute $2 million in State and Federal taxes;
 Contribute to a total of 653 direct and indirect jobs to the region.

23. No. of Businesses 150
Total Number of Employees (Direct Jobs) 400
Restaurants 200
Grocery Stores 100
Travel Agencies 60
Insurance Agencies 40

24. Variable Detail 2005
Industry Employment (Industry
Sales / Int'l Exports) (number) Food services, drinking places -200
Industry Employment (Industry
Sales / Int'l Exports) (number) Retail trade -100
Industry Employment (Industry
Sales / Int'l Exports) (number) Administrative, support services -60
Industry Employment (Industry
Sales / Int'l Exports) (number) Ins carriers, rel act -40
Government Spending (amount) State -$181,855

25. Total Number of Direct and Indirect Jobs Supported in Massachusetts 653
Non-Direct Jobs Supported in Massachusetts 253
Total Gross Regional Product Contribution in Massachusetts $ 60,719,065
Non-Direct Gross Regional Product Contribution in Massachusetts
(Non-Brazilian) $ 23,542,230
Total Output Contribution in Massachusetts $ 108,868,685
Non-Direct Output Contribution in Massachusetts (Non-Brazilian) $ 42,210,987
Total Personal Income Generated in Massachusetts $ 26,180,000
Non-Direct Personal Income Generated in Massachusetts (Non-
Brazilian) $ 10,150,611
Total State Income Tax paid (Non-Direct/Non Brazilian Workers) $ 426,326
Total State Sales Taxes Paid (Non-Direct/Non Brazilian Workers) $ 25,504
Total Federal Income Taxes Paid (Non-Direct/Non Brazilian Workers) $ 1,522,592

26. Total Number of Jobs Created 1,757
Gross Regional Product contribution
(Massachusetts) $147,188,326
Total Output Contribution in Massachusetts $245,716,287
Total Non-direct Personal Income Generated in
Massachusetts $ 48,210,611
Total State Income Taxes Generated $ 7,871,840
Total State Sales Taxes Generated $ 2,097,003
Total Federal Income Taxes Generated $ 28,113,713