The construction of input-output coefficients on the basis of flow data is complicated by the presence of secondary outputa. Seven methods to deal with this problea coexist. For example, the U.S. input-output requirementa tables are based on the so called industry technology model, Japan adopta the so called Stone method, while the tablea of the Federal Republic of German,y are based on the ao called commodity technology model. This paper aettlea the choice of model on the ground of theory. It postulatea invariance and balenCe axioms and proceeda to characterize one of the methoda to conatruct inputoutput ccefficients. The comaodity technology model i s aingled out.

Input-output analysis is the main tool of applied equilibrium analysis. This textbook provides a systematic survey of the most recent developments in input-output analysis and their applications, helping us to examine questions such as: which industries are competitive? What are the multiplier effects of an investment program? How do environmental restrictions impact on prices? Linear programming and national accounting are introduced and used to resolve issues such as the choice of technique, the comparative advantage of a national economy, its efficiency and dynamic performance. Technological and environmental spillovers are analysed, both at the national level (between industries) and the international level (the measurement of globalisation effects). The book is self-contained, but assumes some familiarity with calculus, matrix algebra, and the microeconomic principle of optimizing behaviour. Exercises and review questions are included at the end of each chapter, and solutions at the end of the book.

Kop Jansen and ten Raa's (1990) characterization of product-by-product input-output tables was adopted by the United Nations (1993). Recent OECD and several EU funded projects, however, used industry-by-industry tables, which raises comparable issues concerning their construction. We show how their two main construction models are instances of the transfer principle, with alternative assumptions on the variation of input-output coefficients across product markets. We augment the theory by formulating desirable properties for industry tables and investigate the so-called fixed product and fixed industry sales structure models, which are used by statistical institutes. The fixed industry sales structure model is shown to be superior from an axiomatic point of view.Input-output tables, Axiomatic approach, Industry tables,

Abstractl-_A main difficulty of regional analysis is the inaccuracy of regional inputoutput data. A natural framework for investigation is stochastic input-output analysis. In his study of Central Queensland, West (1986) assumes that input coefficients are normally distributed and derives formulas for the approximation of input-output multipliers means and variances. In his normality framework, these moments do not exits, however. Moreover, an inconsistency in the derivation will be exposed. We remedy these shortcomings by respecification of the stochastic structure and by direct evaluation of the moments through Monte Carlo calculations. West's formulas are quite accurate for an aggregated version of his data set. The leading terms of the formulas can be shown to be first order approximations to the means and the variances.

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