[Editor's note from the MIT News Office: This webpage introduces readers to a 1997 study about the economic impact of companies founded by MIT alumni. In February 2009, the Kauffman Foundation released a study conducted by Edward B. Roberts and Charles Eesley of the MIT Sloan School of Management titled "Entrepreneurial Impact: The Role of MIT," which offers new research about the impact of MIT alumni-backed companies. Learn about the report here, or read the full report here.]

"MIT: The Impact of Innovation," which was prepared by the BankBoston Economics Department, presents the results of a major new study on the national economic impact of companies founded by MIT alumni and alumnae. Among other findings, the study reveals that MIT graduates have founded 4,000 companies, creating 1.1 million jobs worldwide and generating annual sales of $232 billion. To our knowledge, this is the first national study demonstrating the key role that higher education and research play in the economic vitality of this nation.

This report is available in a choice of two formats:

 
• Adobe Acrobat--Best choice if you want to print out the entire report and read it later.*
  *Requires the free plug-in, Adobe Acrobat Reader.
  *If you have recently updated your Acrobat Reader to version 3.0, use the enhanced version.
• Traditional HTML--Best choice if you want to browse through this report on-line.

To report comments or problems about this web site, please send e-mail to edowning@mit.edu. This site last modified March 14, 1997.