PROFILE

George E. Goldman

George Goldman is a retired economist for Cooperative Extension at the University of California, Berkeley. He has been at the University for many, many years working on California's natural resource issues and studying rural areas affected by resource policies and legislation. Methodologically, his major area is regional economics.

He has spent many years trying to improve the quality of public discussion (and ultimately, decision) through economic analysis which explains the economic effects of resource use and public policy choices. He has done this by developing and using an analytic framework that can be adopted and applied to resource use choices as policy issues or resource questions have arisen. Cooperative Extension has been able to provide information and analysis that has helped to promote informed decisions. Equally important is the fact that discussion of the economic models and methods serves to educate the public about the value of a quantitative and analytical approach to public policy choices. His role has been to provide research results based on knowledge, information, and a systematic framework of analysis.

George is the major California user of the IMPLAN system for creating regional input-output models. IMPLAN (IMpact of PLANning) is a system for PC computers of algorithms and data which allows the user to construct, with no additional data requirements, Leontief input-output models for any county (parish, borough, township), region or state in the United States.

IMPLAN was originally started in the late 1970's by economists in the Fort Collins, Colorado, office of the U.S. Forest Service to meet the economic impact reporting requirements of the U.S. Forest Service. It was originally on the Forest Service computer in Fort Collins and was accessible only by modem. In the mid-1980s, a version for PC computers was introduced. The IMPLAN system was turned over to the University of Minnesota and in 1993 IMPLAN was privatized. It is now run by the Minnesota IMPLAN Group (MIG) in Minnesota and is responsible for keeping the system up to date. If more information is desired, MIG has its own Web page.

George has worked extensively with counties and cities throughout California on agricultural economics related studies, impact assessments to local governments, and projects with the private sector. Examples of problem areas he has worked in are: residential development, tourism, farmland conversion, recreation, water development, coastal legislation, groundwater management, and the economic value of agriculture.

His clientele groups have included: California Department of Food & Agriculture, California Dept of Parks & Recreation, California Dept of Water Resources, California Dept of Forestry & Fire Protection, California Dept of Fish & Game, U.C. Cooperative Extension Counties, The California State Universities, The U.S. Forest Service, and others.

Some recent publications in the Giannini Library:

• Goldman, George and Aya Ogishi. "The Economic Impact of Waste Disposal and Diversion in California." Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics, University of California, Berkeley, April 2001, 105p

• Feldman, Nancy, Andrew Muray, Joan Wright, and George Goldman. "Tuolumne County Shops Capture Local Dollars." California Agriculture, Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources, University of California, Vol 54, No. 6, November-December 2000, pp. 61-65.

• Kuminoff, Nicolai, Daniel Sumner, George Goldman. "The Measure of California Agriculture, 2000." Agricultural Issues Center, University of California, Davis, Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources, November 2000.

• Templeton, Scott, Cheryl Brown, George Goldman, Seung Jick Yoo, and Vijay Pradhan. "An Economic Analysis of Environmental Horticulture with a Focus in California." HortScience, Vol. 35 (6), October 2000, pp. 987-992.

• Goldman, George. A book review on "Transforming California: A Political History of Land Use and Development," Stephanie S. Pincertl. In Journal of Regional Science by the Blackwell Publishers, August 2000.

• Kuminoff, Nicolai, Alvin Sokolow, Ray Coppock, George Goldman, etc. "Agriculture in the Sacramento Region Trends and Prospects." Summary from the forum: The Future of Agriculture in the Sacramento Region, Agricultural Issues Center, University of California, Davis, Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources, September 2000.

• Goldman, George E. "What If We All Stayed Home." Presented at the National Extension Tourist 2000 Conference, Kailua-Kona, HI, May 2000, 7p. National Implan User's Conference, Colorado State University, October, 2000, pp. 75-92. University of Wisconsin-Extension, Community Economics Newsletter, December 2000.

• Wallace, Hank, George Goldman, and Mahlon Lang. "Economic Impact of Agricultural Marketing Cooperatives on the Rural Economy of California." Project report for Cooperative Marketing Division, Rural Business-Cooperative Service, USDA, Center for Cooperatives, University of California, Davis, April 2000, 68p.