The Economic Value of Water and Ecosystem Preservation

changes in one industry will affect other industries. It can also predict how these
affects will impact on consumers, government, foreign suppliers, and on the
economy. Input-output analysis considers inter-industry relations in an economy,
depicting how the output of one industry goes to another industry where it serves
as an input, thereby making industries interdependent on another, both as
customers of output and suppliers of inputs. An input-output model depicts this
dynamic relationship.
Job growth and quality continues to be a challenge for rural counties, not
only in the Coastal Bend, but nationwide. Aransas, Calhoun, and Refugio
counties have many issues in common and several that are unique to the county
itself. A common thread running through all the counties is the level of
educational attainment. In most cases the levels are significantly less than the
State average. This will continue to hamper economic development. Both
Refugio and Calhoun are experiencing negative or flat population growth.
On the positive side, all three counties have seen decreases in poverty rates
over the last ten years and increasing real per capita income that is keeping pace
with the national and State rates of growth, although still below the averages.
Calhoun stands out with a real average wage per job that is higher than the
Texas average. This can be attributed to the high quality (paying) jobs found in
the extensive petro-chemical industry in the county.
The focus of this analysis was to determine the state of the fisheries industry
for the San Antonio Bay area. Any results are only relevant in the context of
employment alternatives for those that work in fisheries. Therefore, it was
decided that the most likely employment alternatives are mining (oil and gas),
construction, and manufacturing. Shift-share analysis allows us to deconstruct
the growth or decline in employment and identify the cause for that change,
whether it is national, industrial, or competitive trends.
Fishing employment in Aransas has eroded at a much faster rate during the
time period under study than Calhoun. A negative competitive share in Aransas
and zero value for Calhoun suggests that the county does not have a
comparative advantage in this sector. Given that the main fisheries are shrimp
and oysters it could be argued that these counties would continue to have an
advantage, particularly in oysters, where global competition is not as relevant as
it is in shrimping. Of greater interest is that the total economic impact of
employment loss in the fisheries sector is not nearly as great in any of the
remaining three sectors. The multiplier effect is very limited.
In the case of Aransas, the growth in mining and construction was able to
offset the decline in fisheries and manufacturing, and create a net 376 jobs and
income of $17.6 million. For Calhoun, the study period coincided with a scaling
back of expansion at the petro-chemical firms and this is reflected in the declining
employment numbers. Yet, it still illustrates the greater impact that each of the
three industries has on the economy than fishing.
Shrimping will continue to feel pressure from imports as well as input prices,
such as fuel. Oystering may still have a competitive advantage given the demand
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