Despite strong anecdotal evidence that the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) helped turn the economy around in many Great Lakes communities, until recently there was no comprehensive study of the overall impact of the program on the regional economy.

A team of Great Lakes organizations worked with the University of Michigan’s Research Seminar in Quantitative Economics to analyze the economic impacts of funding provided by the GLRI between 2010 and 2016, the amount of region-wide economic activity that has been and will be triggered by GLRI investment through 2036, the growth in regional tourism that has resulted due to the GLRI, and the impact of the program on the region’s quality of life as reflected in home values. The research was reviewed by a panel of economists and other experts from outside the Great Lakes region.

In addition, to provide local context for the results, the team developed case studies that describe how regional impacts have translated into real improvements in eight Great Lakes coastal communities.