Key sectors in economic development: A perspective from input-output linkages and cross-sector misallocation

For a typical developing country, this paper shows that once inter-sectoral linkages are taken into account, closing the productivity gap in a number of services gives bigger gains in aggregate productivity than closing it in agriculture or in manufacturing. This is performed in the context of an input-output economy and general equilibrium. Also, the importance of sector-specific distortions that produce cross-sector misallocation is addressed. I compute the effect of the removal of these distortions on aggregate productivity using the input-output model and find that this could increase productivity up to 68%, depending on whether the rents from distortions stay in the economy or not.