Economic interactions in Fiji : a study of sectoral flows and linkages

Abstract

Input-output analysis has found an important application in the economics of development through the concept of linkages. This dissertation is an application of the input-output approach to identify sectoral flows and linkages in the Fijian economy. It makes use of a 23 - sector inter-industry table of the year 1972 to describe and analyse the structure of the economy. The 1972 inter-industry table is used to obtain a range of statistics on structural aspects of the economy. For this purpose, the inter-industry linkages were calculated. The main purpose is to identify and analyse the degree of interdependence between sectors of the economy which can be of significance for development planning. This is supplemented by identifying other major functional relationships of significance for planning, e.g., sectoral dependence on various categories of final demand and detailed analysis of the final markets of the output of some important sectors' of the economy. An important application of inter-industry models in structural analysis has been the analysis of the relationship between primary inputs and final demand. Hence, the inter-industry table is used to elucidate questions of the type: What is the import content of personal consumption? What is the wages and salaries content of exports? The inter-industry transactions matrix is 'closed' with respect to 'Households' to determine the income and employment multiplier effects. The multiplier analysis is considered from two points of view. First, the income (or employment) effects following a given increase in output delivered to final demand and second, the increase in output required from any sector to achieve a given level of change in income (or employment). On the basis of the structural relationships some implications are drawn and the study concludes with an assessment of the limitations and further development. Show more