The Local Economy Forecasting Model
A user-friendly tool for local economic analysis
The Local Economy Forecasting Model (LEFM) is a friendly software application designed to enable and support in-house economic analysis.
Planners and policy advisors in the public and private sector often want to use economic information at a local level. However, the task of collating and organising the data is substantial. Gaps need to be filled in. Consistency with more recent national and regional data need to be assured. For forward-looking analysis, knowledge of the local area needs to be combined with knowledge of regional, national and international trends. For local impact analysis, a model structure with the relevant links and parameter estimates need to be established.
The scale of this task can be daunting and often means that corners must be cut or external consultants brought in. This can leave in-house staff without the knowledge needed to interpret or update the analysis.
LEFM simplifies the process of anticipating and planning for what will happen in local economies by providing an efficient means of generating economic scenarios. It draws on the considerable experience held by Cambridge Econometrics and the Institute for Employment Research, the joint developers of LEFM, in sectoral and labour market analysis at the European, national and regional level.
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