Commodity-by-Commodity Input-Output Matrices: Extensions and Experiences from an Application to Austria

The construction of commodity-by-commodity input-output matrices from Make and Use matrices is a much debated area. Different views compete with each other, both in theoretical aspects as in practical appraisement of the importance of the various issues involved. The commodity-technology assumption and the industry-technology assumptions form the basic theoretical concepts between which one must choose. In an axiomatic framework Kop Jansen and ten Raa (1990) have shown that the compilation method based on the commodity-based assumption is superior (see also ten Raa and Rueda-Cantuche, 2003, for a recent overview). However, other strong arguments are in favor of the industry technology assumption, in particular the