Analyzing Socio-Economic Impacts of Large Investments by Spatial Microsimulation

• In the near future, a nuclear waste repository will be located in either Östhammar or Oskarshamn, two Swedish municipalities. This is a major investment that is likely to have socio-economic implications at the local level for several decades. In order to analyze the indirect local effects of such large investments, a spatial and dynamic microsimulation model (SVERIGE 3) has been constructed. The model simulates demographic events (e.g., fertility and migration) as well as education and the labor market. In this study, the simulation model is utilized to evaluate a number of scenarios comprising various potential investments in Östhammar, one of which is the nuclear waste repository. As part of the study, the direct local effect of the investments was estimated. When running the model, the estimated direct local effects function as exogenous economic input to concerned labor market sectors. The results of the simulations indicate that investments such as the nuclear waste repository will have some economic and demographic effects. However, infrastructure projects that increase accessibility seem to generate more profound and long-lasting effects at the local level. A municipality such as Östhammar, located close the Stockholm metropolitan area, may be especially likely to benefit by such infrastructure investments.

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