Written for CHAPA by UMass Amherst Professor Robert Nakosteen and James Palma of the UMass Donahue Institute, this report critically analyzes the standard methods used to estimate the fiscal impact of proposed housing developments in Massachusetts. The report finds that the most common method used to estimate the fiscal impact of housing development is the Per Capita Multiplier Method, which uses average costs per person as a basis for estimates of the fiscal costs of development to communities. A test of this method using actual municipal expenditure data over time reveals that the predicted fiscal impacts generated by this model do not match what occurs in reality for most Massachusetts cities and towns.

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