Identifying Linkages with a Cluster-based Methodology

Although many methods for studying linkages between economic sectors exist, most methods only analyse the linkages between a specific sector and all other sectors, or the effects of all sectors on the economy as a whole. Cluster analysis may be helpful to analyse which sectors are strongly connected to each other, when no specific sector is given in advance. The present article reviews how cluster analysis contributes to the analysis of intersectoral linkages. Furthermore, it describes several possible identification methods of these clusters. After selecting the best method, the article provides an index that can be used to compute the degree of similarity between clusters in different regions, countries, or time periods.