NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. (AP) — Economists at Rutgers University are estimating that Superstorm Sandy will have a net positive effect on New Jersey’s economy assuming the state pulls in at least $25 billion for recovery and reconstruction.

A report out Monday from the Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy concludes the state economy should perform modestly better through 2015 than it would have if the storm hadn’t hit.

But the Rutgers report warns its forecast is “critically dependent” on the expenditure of at least $25 billion in private and public restoration funds. It also says other factors including changes in federal fiscal policy could throw off the projection.

Even if the state benefits economically in the long term, the Rutgers report says the “damages, both human and economic, are enormous and real.”

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