Which two components sum to the total economic impact an airport has on a community?

• A. induced impact and primary impact
• B. direct impact and indirect impact
• C. primary impact and secondary impact
• D. induced impact and indirect impact

Answer: (A)

When thinking about the total economic impact an airport has on a community, the analysis is built from two parts: the direct, immediate activity (the primary or direct impact) and the additional activity generated by spending of people who earn income from that direct activity (the induced impact). The primary impact covers the airport’s own operations and the initial purchases and wages tied directly to it. The induced impact captures the further local spending by residents and workers enabled by those wages. Adding these together gives the overall footprint on the community. Indirect or secondary ripple effects through suppliers are part of the broader picture in other frameworks, but in this formulation the total is represented by the sum of primary and induced impacts.