Advances in Updating INPUT-OUTPUT Tables: Its Relevance for the Analysis of Regional Economies

Abstract

It is very usual to perform economic impact analysis using the latest input-output tables available. However, the problem arises when, as time goes by, reference data may be somewhat outdated. Nevertheless traditional economic analysis considers it almost a fixed dataset; hence there appears a gap between true and estimated results that should be minimized as far as possible. Therefore, updating input-output matrices is necessary and it helps us achieve better results in terms of reliability. This paper presents a technique of global adjustment that can be applied in scenarios with partial information. It is an algorithm that can be implemented almost in real time, representing a remarkable improvement by avoiding the common delays in this field. In addition, for its performance it is only necessary to know (or predict) the behavior of certain vector quantities. For practical purposes, we present some data of the updated domestic symmetric table of Galicia for 2007, based on the symmetric table for 2005 published by the Galician Statistical Institute (IGE). We also highlight the convergent nature of the proposed procedure.