The impact of the Boston-area colleges and universities on the local economy was studied and major findings include the following: (1) Boston postsecondary education is a $1.3 billion annual enterprise, most of which money is spent in the Boston area. (2) Sources outside metropolitan Boston account for more than half of these expenditures. The education community is, in effect, a major local "export" industry, bringing prosperity to the local economy. (3) The 65 colleges and universities have combined purchases (excluding construction) that total $317 million per year, 75 percent of which is in the metropolitan Boston area. (4) Purchases by faculty, staff, and students of the 65 schools amount to $493 million per year. (5) The 65 colleges and universities in the Boston area employ 40,000 or about 37 percent of the total employed in educational services, which is 3.5 percent of the total employment. (Author/LBH)