York University: Economic and Social Impact Report

Economic and Social Impact Studies

In 2020, HESA completed York University’s economic impact assessment available here. This report projects the impact of an academic community of over 55,000 undergraduate and graduate students plus the staff and faculty who support them.

To support this research, we reviewed a number of documents and statistics provided by York University and Statistics Canada. We surveyed 2,239 York students and 5,551 alumni and used their answers to project the overall impact of York University, including projecting a counterfactual of how their lives might have been different if the university did not exist. We also conducted more than 70 interviews with York staff, community partners, employers, and partners in research and development.

Based on this data and our mathematical modelling, HESA estimated that expanding access to higher education generated approximately $2.2 billion in economic activity. We also uncovered numerous qualitative impacts of York’s research, scholarship, and community engagement. We considered that all public spending induces some economic activity, and therefore we focussed on how lives would be different if York did not exist.

As a result of this project, we were able to develop a series of three surveys — one for students, one for faculty, and one for alumni — to help institutions drive narratives about the way they contribute to their communities both economically and socially.