Linkages, key sectors and structural change: some new perspectives

Recent exchanges in the literature on the identification and role of key sectors in national and regional economies have highlighted the difficulties of consensus regarding terminology, appropriate measurement as well as economic interpretation. In this paper, some new perspectives are advanced which provide a more comprehensive view of an economy and offer the potential for uncovering alternative perspectives about the role of linkages and multipliers in input-output and expanded social accounting systems. The analysis draws on some pioneering work by Miyazawa in the identification of internal and external multiplier effects. The theoretical techniques are illustrated by reference to a set of input-output tables for the Brazilian economy. The paper thus provides a more comprehensive view than the ones proposed by Baer, Fonseca, and Guilhoto (1987), Hewings, Fonseca, Guilhoto, and Sonis (1989) and the recent contributions of Clements and Rossi (1991, 1992) that draw on some earlier work of Cella (1984).