The Clark Effect on the Economy
Yesterday, Common Sense Institute Iowa released a detailed analysis of Iowa women’s basketball star Caitlin Clark’s impact on the Iowa economy…they call it Clarkonomics…and it’s far more of a success than Bidenomics.
The report says the “Caitlin Clark Effect” generated an estimated $82.5 million in increased consumer spending in Iowa. For context, that’s double the state revenue collected from the 2021 Iowa State Fair…and they awarded blue ribbons there.
They arrived at that $82.5 million figure based upon a number of factors…for example, increased attendance at games held in Iowa…a whopping 178 percent increase from when she first wore the Hawkeye uniform. Those folks bought tickets, ate at restaurants, rented hotel rooms. The $82.5 million number, then, represents direct consumer spending over just the last three years.
The folks at CSI then ran forecasts on Clark’s impact on state gross domestic product, both using regional economic modeling. In one, they presume that spending related to gate attendance is a reallocation of money attendees would have spent on something else in Iowa…in the other, they presumed that all spending is new spending. That gives you the extremes, with CSI noting the truth is probably in the middle.
Those models show that the state GDP rose by $14.4 million on the low end, to $52.3 million on the high end. Even with the truth somewhere in the middle…that’s a pretty rich middle of $33.3 million.
CSI says that would be enough to buy every Iowan tickets to the state fair with a couple million left to buy every 2024 fairgoer up to 4 funnel cakes.
Further evidence that the right person, in the right situation, can have a massive impact—generally and economically—on so many. Good luck in the tournament opener tomorrow.
