Last year Tennessee was among the top 10 states to generate economic activity from funding from the National Institutes of Health. That’s according to the liberal consumer health group Families USA.
Its report entitled, “In Your Own Backyard”, says NIH funding to 29 Tennessee universities, businesses, and research centers created more than 7,000 jobs.
Families USA Executive Director Ron Pollack says that has a “multiplier effect” on the economy. The report shows the state generated $2.32 for every dollar of NIH funding.
“When you hire additional people at one of these institutions, those people, in turn, make various consumer purchases, whether its an automobile or a refrigerator, and in turn if one of those employees purchases an automobile, the automobile dealer has more resources.”
Of the $447 million NIH awarded in Tennessee in 2007, Vanderbilt University received the most at $298 million. Meharry Medical College received $22 million dollars, and Tennessee State University was awarded $970,000.
Families USA is using its report to call for more federal dollars for the National Institutes of Health. It says that while budgets have remained steady since 2003, they do not account for inflation.
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