Final report - Integrated Land Management Bureau

5.1.4 Economics
PRIMARY INDICATORS
Economic diversity
Indicator D1: Economic diversity index of plan areas (compared with North Island and
province)
Rationale: Community economies that rely on multiple sectors are considered to
have stronger economic health than those who are dependent on only one or a few
sectors. The economic diversity index score is used to compare the diversity in the
economies across geographic areas and is freely available every five years from
BC Stats. The index score is calculated through a formula that measures the
variability of the “dependency values” of 11 basic industries (forestry, fisheries,
mining, agriculture, tourism, high-tech, public/government, construction, transfer
payments and other non-employment income, and other, including
transportation), which is calculated from the income earned from each industry
type. The index score for any given area would be zero if the area were entirely
dependent on one of the 11 sectors. At the other extreme, the diversity index
would be 100 if an area was equally dependent on the 11 sectors. Most areas have
an index score of between 50 and 70. Because the BC Stats Economic Diversity
Index is based on five-year census data and then reported at least two years after
the Census is taken, it does not provide a useful measure of annual progress. An
alternative diversity index could be calculated based on the results of the annual
employment survey described in Section 8.1.1.
Data Source: The diversity index is produced by BC Stats and available on their
website. The Economic Diversity Index is based on Census data. It is available
every five years approximately two years after the Census year.
(http://www.bcstats.gov.bc.ca/pubs/econ_dep.asp). The geographical unit used is
the Census subdivision (CSD). The most recent source of data used was the 2001
Census, which is received by 20% randomly selected households (Horne 2004).
In 2001, BC Stats calculated the economic diversity index by LRMP area (see
http://www.bcstats.gov.bc.ca/pubs/econ_dep/la_tabs.pdf) but combined the
Central and North Coast. It’s uncertain if this compilation by LRMP area will
occur on a regular basis.
Desired direction: Increase in economic diversity index scores.
Costs: Developing an alternative diversity index is expected to cost $20,000 for
preparing the methodology and initial result, with a cost of approximately $10-
15,000 to prepare future years using the established methodology. The project
monies would be used to contract a regional economist to prepare the
methodology, create the equation for preparing the sector estimates, collected the
necessary data and preparing the resulting index.
Table 8. Economic Diversity Index scores by Census Sub-division by census year for several coastal
Census sub-divisions
Census sub-division 2001 1996 1991
11 Campbell River 70 66 71
12 Bute Inlet 75 76 81
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