Combining Multiregional Input‐Output Analysis with a World Trade Model for Evaluating Scenarios for Sustainable Use of Global Resources, Part II: Implementation

Abstract

SummaryThe standard multiregional input‐output (MRIO) framework can be combined with the outcomes of analysis using a model of the world economy to calculate footprints and other path‐based results for scenarios about the future. A companion article, entitled “Combining multiregional input‐output analysis with a world trade model for evaluating scenarios for sustainable use of global resources, part I: Conceptual framework,” describes our approach for extending the reach of MRIO techniques from descriptions of the past to prospects for the future. Here, we demonstrate the mathematics for converting scenario outcomes obtained using an input‐output (I‐O) model of the world economy to MRIO flow tables and then applying MRIO footprinting techniques to the resulting MRIO database. A numerical example comparing water footprints under alternative scenarios demonstrates that the world model outcomes are a sounder basis for the analysis of scenarios than the standard MRIO approach and identifies the reason why this is so. The approach described in this article integrates two previously distinct lines of research in I‐O analysis, enlarging opportunities for collaboration on both the formulation and analysis of scenarios that can provide concrete guidance for longer‐term strategies.