"[W]e aim to assess the economic impact of MCCCD on the local business community and the return on investment generated by the district for its key stakeholder groups: students, society, and taxpayers.... We begin with an economic impact analysis of MCCCD on the local business community in Maricopa County. To derive results, we rely on a specialized Social Accounting Matrix (SAM) model to calculate the additional income created in the Maricopa County economy as a result of district-linked input purchases, consumer spending, and the added skills of MCCCD students. Results of the regional economic impact analysis are broken out according to... 1) impact of district operations, 2) impact of student spending, and 3) impact of the skills acquired by former students that are still active in the Maricopa County workforce. The second component of the study is a standard investment analysis to determine how money spent on MCCCD performs as an investment over time. The investors in this case are students, society, and taxpayers.... The students' investment consists of their out-of-pocket expenses and the opportunity cost of attending college as opposed to working. Society invests in education by forgoing the services that it would have received had it not funded MCCCD and the business output that it would have enjoyed had students been employed instead of studying. Taxpayers contribute their investment through government funding.... [S]tudents receive a lifetime of higher incomes, society benefits from an enlarged economy and a reduced demand for social services, and taxpayers benefit from an expanded tax base and a collection of public sector savings. To determine the feasibility of the investment, the model projects benefits into the future, discounts them back to their present value, and compares them to their present value costs. Results of the investment analysis for students, society, and taxpayers are displayed in the following four ways: 1) net present value of benefits, 2) rate of return, 3) benefit-cost ratio, and 4) payback period. A wide array of data and assumptions are used in the study based on several sources, including the 2013-14 academic and financial reports from the district, industry and employment data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and U.S. Census Bureau, outputs of EMSI’s SAM model, and a variety of published materials relating education to social behavior.... MCCCD has a significant positive impact on the local business community and generates a return on investment for its main stakeholder groups: students, society, and taxpayers"--Pages 7-9.