The Conversion of the Supply and Use Tables to Symmetric Input-Output Tables: A Critical Review

This paper reviews the available methods used to convert Supply and Use Tables of actual economic systems to Symmetric Input-Output Tables. It is argued that all conversion methods rest on the unrealistic assumption that single production, and not joint production, characterizes the economic structure of the real world. Finally, a straightforward treatment, based on general joint-product models inspired by von Neumann (1945) and Sraffa (1960), of the Supply and Use Tables is proposed as a way out of the inconsistencies of the conversion methods.