Regional Economic Accounts: About Regional
Programmatic Impacts of BEA’s FY2008 Appropriations on the Regional Economic Accounts Directorate
| April 2008 (PDF • 54 KB) 
Overview of the Regional Program
The regional economic accounts tell us about the geographic distribution of U.S. economic activity and growth. The estimates of gross domestic product by state and state and local area personal income, and the accompanying detail, provide a consistent framework for analyzing and comparing individual state and local area economies.
- Introduction | November 2007 (PDF • 1,726 KB)
- Gross Domestic Product by State | November 2007 (PDF • 624 KB)
- State Personal Income | November 2007 (PDF • 814 KB)
- Local Area Personal Income (REIS) | November 2007 (PDF • 3,505 KB)
- Regional Economic Multipliers (RIMS II) | November 2007 (PDF • 659 KB)
Uses of the Regional Program Estimates
- The Federal government uses regional income and product estimates to distribute $226 billion to states.
Income and product used to distribute federal funds | April 2008 (PDF • 42 KB) - Twenty-one states have set constitutional or statutory limits on state government revenues or spending that are tied to BEA state personal income or one of its components.
State Tax and Expenditure Limits 2007 | (PDF • 113 KB) - Academic researchers use the estimates for applied economic research.
- Businesses, trade associations, and labor organizations use the estimates for market research.
Outreach
BEA participates in conferences and workshops nationwide to help users better understand and use its products and services.
- BEA Regional Program Outreach in 2008 (PDF • 28 KB)
- In 2007 BEA participated in day-long workshops in partnership with Pacific Northwest Regional Economic Analysis Project (PNREAP), the University of Nevada-Reno Center for Economic Development, the University of Montana Bureau of Business and Economic Research, and Western Washington University Center for Economic and Business Research. Agendas for three of the meetings are available:
- Calibrating the Nevada Economy: Data and Tools for Assessing our State and Local Economies, February 2, 2007
- Monitoring Montana: Analyzing Local Economies Through BEA Data, May 9, 2007
- Calibrating the Washington Economy: Data and Tools for Assessing Our State and Local Economies, May 11, 2007
- In September 2006 a day-long conference was held by ACCRA and BEA, in partnership with the State of Texas Office of the Governor, Economic Development and Tourism and the Greater Dallas Chamber— Understanding Regional Economic Data for Policy and Planning.
BEA User Group Program
The regional program maintains a partnership with a group of users named the BEA User Group. The members of this group include State agencies, universities, and Census Primary State Data Centers. The BEA User Group disseminates regional data and gives feedback on our estimates and the presentation of the estimates. Distribution in this way encourages State universities and State agencies to use data that are comparable for all States and counties and consistent with national totals, thus enhancing the uniformity of analytic approaches taken in economic development programs and improving the recipients' ability to assess local area economic developments and to service their local clientele.
