Community Level Economic Impacts and Outlook for Cotton Ginning from Structural Change in the Cotton Industry

Cotton ginning is an important economic activity in the cotton producing areas. This study estimates the economic impact of ginning on the economy of the Mid-South and individual states in this region. Data for the study was obtained from a survey of gins in the Mid-South and personal interviews with selected individual gin operators. These data were used in a Mid-South wide and state-specific input-output model to measure the total economic impacts of the ginning activity. Results of the study indicated that the cotton ginning activity in the Mid-South States generated over $258 million in direct output effects during 2007. If multiplier effects are included, the total economic output effect exceeds $438 million. Total cotton ginning output multiplier for the Mid-South was estimated to be 2.39.