2. Contribution of commercial aquaculture to economic growth: an assessment framework

As discussed earlier, there are no commonly accepted approaches of assessing the contribution of a given sector such as commercial aquaculture, to economic growth. Using previous studies, such as the one conducted by Timmer (1992), as a foundation, this chapter attempts to develop a framework for measuring this impact for commercial aquaculture. The assessment framework is developed in two steps. In the first step, a systematic conceptual/theoretical/qualitative framework for understanding the contribution of commercial aquaculture to economic growth is articulated. In the second step, the conceptual framework is converted into an empirical framework for quantitative evaluation of this contribution.