PROJECTION OF SUPPLY AND USE TABLES: METHODS AND THEIR EMPIRICAL ASSESSMENT

We present eight existing projection methods and test their relative performance in estimating Supply and Use tables (SUTs) of the Netherlands and Spain. Some of the methods presented have received little attention in the literature, and some have been slightly revised to better deal with negative elements and preserve the signs of original matrix entries. We find that (G)RAS and the methods proposed by Harthoorn and van Dalen (1987 Harthoorn, R. and J. van Dalen (1987) On the Adjustment of Tables with Lagrange Multipliers. NA-024. Central Bureau of Statistics, The Netherlands, National Accounts Research Division  Google Scholar]) and Kuroda (1988 Kuroda, M. 1988. “A Method of Estimation for the Updating Transaction Matrix in the Input–Output Relationships”. In Statistical Data Bank Systems. Socio-Economic database and model building in Japan, Edited by: Uno, K. and Shishido, S. Amsterdam: North Holland, 43–56.  Google Scholar]) produce the best estimates for the data in question. Their relative success also suggests the stability of ratios of larger transactions.