What is the benefit to the Interior Native community?
The community is concerned about giving an opportunity for Native communities to stay in the villages and live their lives as they always have. ATBA can provide an opportunity for “bush” population to generate sustainable income. A series of economic researchers (R. Lucas, J. Graca, J. Caballe, M. Baranova) have proven through regression analysis that investment in physical capital, i.e. infrastructure, brings higher returns on investment than investment in human capital. Since well educated work force tends to leave their poorly developed communities, creation of the infrastructure in those communities is what keeps the assets in the community. ATBA will create an infrastructure (an accelerator building), which will help to retain Alaskans, giving them a valuable job and sustainable income.
