INTRODUCTION
IMPLAN has several products available for many different geographies. These include the core U.S.-based Product, the Canada Provincial Product, and the International Product, all available within IMPLAN Cloud. Each of these products have various levels of geographic detail, with the core U.S.-based Product available down to the zip code-level, the Canada Provincial Product available at the province or territory level, and the International Product available at the national level (including the U.S. and Canada).
The structure of the Input-Output (I-O) tables and Social Accounting Matrices (SAMs) for IMPLAN’s global products are very similar to IMPLAN’s core U.S.-based Product, but there are some differences to be aware of. This article describes those differences within the context of the IMPLAN SAM and its components.
Importantly, the raw data sources and valuation used in the development of these products differ from those used in the development of the core U.S.-based product such that the data are not comparable across products. For example, a given Industry’s Output or Value Added cannot be compared across products because the U.S.-based Product is valued in producers’ prices, which includes all taxes on production and imports (TOPI), whereas the global products are valued in basic prices, which does not include taxes on products (TOPS). Read more about this in Components of Value Added and the TOPS Account.
Details regarding geographic coverage, Industry lists, features, and data sources vary by release and can be found in each release’s unique data release notes.
INDUSTRIES AND COMMODITIES
Industry activity forms the basis for constructing I-O tables and conducting economic impact analysis. Industries produce and sell Commodities, or products and services, to other Industries for their use as inputs and to Institutions as final demand. To produce and sell these Commodities, an Industry must purchase Commodities from other Industries to operate their business. These are referred to as Intermediate Inputs. Industries also pay for labor, pay taxes, and generate profits.
Like the U.S.-based Product, Commodities in IMPLAN’s global products are numbered in accordance with the primary Industry that produces them, with the Commodity number equal to the Industry number plus 3000 (e.g. Industry 1 produces Commodity 3001). This allows Commodities to be distinguished from Industries. However, unlike the U.S.-based Product, IMPLAN’s Canada Provincial and International Products only have Industries producing their primary Commodity.
INSTITUTIONS
In IMPLAN, Institutions are entities that create final demand in an economy. In the IMPLAN SAMs, these would include: Households, Government, Capital, Inventory, and Private Enterprise. Final demand reflects the total value of goods and services sold to final users. It represents demand by Households and Government for final consumption (as opposed to use as an input into the production of another product), investment purchases, and/or net additions to Inventory.
In all IMPLAN products, Institutions include Households, Government, Capital, Inventory, and Private Enterprise. However, here are some differences in how Institutions are represented in the Canada Provincial and International Products.
HOUSEHOLDS & NON-PROFIT INSTITUTIONS PRIMARILY SERVING HOUSEHOLDS
Households are a major component of Final Demand, purchasing goods and services for personal use and generating Induced Effects in an economic impact analysis.
In IMPLAN’s core U.S.-based Product, personal consumption expenditures, or the goods and services purchased by “persons” or households, include purchases made by Non-Profit Institutions Primarily Serving Households (NPISH). NPISH are organizations that provide services to Households either free or at economically non-significant prices. In the U.S.-based Product, the expenditures made by NPISHs in service to or on behalf of Households are accounted for within the spending pattern of the Households themselves. This contrasts with the Canada Provincial and International Products where NPISH has its own Spending Pattern for final use (one that is not combined with Households). Spending by NPISH for final use (as opposed to as inputs to production) generates Induced Effects just as Household Spending Patterns. This distinction between NPISH spending on final use and spending on Intermediate Inputs is particularly important in the Canada Provincial Product, where NPISH is treated both as an Industry and an Institution. Read more about this in Canada Provincial Industry Scheme.
Another distinction between the U.S.-based Product and the global products is that the U.S. data has distinct Spending Patterns for nine different household groups, which are grouped by household income. Due to data limitations, both the Canada Provincial and International Products only have one Household group, which represent personal consumption expenditures.
Households receive and pay transfer payments to the government and other institutions (e.g. taxes, social security benefits) and generate income by participating in production (Labor Income) and from returns on capital (e.g., interest payments, dividends). In IMPLAN’s U.S.-based data, adjustments are made to ensure that commuter behavior is accounted for. For example, while payroll taxes are paid in the county of employment, personal income taxes on that same income are paid in the county of residence. Furthermore, household demand is generated at the location of the household (an employee’s place of residence) rather than their place of employment. Due to data limitations, IMPLAN does not account for commuting in the Canada Provincial and International Products.
GOVERNMENT
Like Industries and Households, the Government generates income and purchases goods and services. IMPLAN data include several types of government activity, but the presentation of Government activity varies amongst the U.S.-based and global data products. In general, government activity can be separated into two categories: Government Enterprises and Government Institutions, or administrative or general government. Government Enterprises and Government Institutions differ in the way that they generate income and whether they are a source of final demand.
Government Enterprises, like the post office, operate much like private sector Industries in that they are engaged in production for sale at economically significant prices. Government Enterprises purchase goods and services as Intermediate Inputs but are not a source of final demand.
Government Institutions, in contrast, are primarily engaged in non-market production activities and finance their activities primarily through inter-institutional transfers (taxes, fees, intergovernmental transfers, and other compulsory transfers). Government Institutions can also receive funds as a result of the sale of some commodities, known as Institutional Sales. Unlike Government Enterprises, Government Institutions are entities that create final demand in an economy. In other words, Government Institutions purchase goods and services for immediate consumption.
Government production and consumption activities in the IMPLAN SAM are presented differently, specifically in relation to the U.S. and Canada Provincial Products. Read more about this in Canada Provincial Industry Scheme.
In all IMPLAN Products, taxes paid to Government Institutions are treated as leakage and do not continue to circulate in the regional economy (i.e., they do not generate additional multiplier effects).
ADDITIONAL FINAL DEMAND
Additional Final Demand categories include Capital (investment expenditures), Inventory (additions/deletions), and Private Enterprise. While there are slight differences in how Households and Government are represented in the global products and the U.S.-based Product, all additional final demand categories (Capital, Inventory, and Private Enterprise) are represented the same as in the core U.S.-based data.
TRADE
Within the SAM Framework, the Trade account represents the monetary flows into and out of a region, with payments to the Trade rows representing imports and payments by the Trade columns representing exports. Trade data has been incorporated in each product at the geographic level available.
Foreign trade represents the flow of money to and from a given region outside of the region’s national boundary. Both the Canada Provincial and U.S.-based Products do not currently have trading partner information for foreign trade. However, in the International Product, IMPLAN has trading-partner information for foreign trade, allowing for MRIO analysis amongst countries in the International Product (including the U.S. and Canada). MRIO functionality was introduced in the 2019/2020 release of the International Product.
While the Canada Provincial Product does not have trading partner detail for foreign trade (trade with other countries), it does contain interprovincial trade (trade between the provinces and territories within Canada). This sub-national trade data allows for MRIO analysis within Canada.
In the U.S.-based Product, trade not only consists of the importing and exporting of goods and services, but also in labor that is “traded” between regions in the case of commuters. Commuters are those who work in one region but live in another region. The U.S.-based Product accounts for commuting flows. As mentioned previously, due to limited data availability, commuting flows are not accounted for in the Canada Provincial and International Products.
OTHER DISTINGUISHING CHARACTERISTICS
There are a few other distinguishing characteristics that are worthy of note. The most important is the type of valuation used. In both the International and Canada Provincial Products, Industry production is presented in basic prices rather than producers’ prices. The primary distinction between basic prices and producers’ prices is the treatment of taxes and subsidies. Read more about the different types of valuation in Concepts of Valuation. This treatment of taxes and subsidies results in differences in how an Industry’s Value Added is reported. More information about the implications for Value Added is available in Components of Value Added and the TOPS Account.
RELATED ARTICLES
Concepts of Valuation in National Economic Accounts
Components of Value Added and the TOPS Account
International Data Sources and Methods
Canada Provincial Industry Scheme
Webinar: Exploring International Product
International Analysis with IMPLAN’s Newly Enhanced Offerings
Written November 22, 2024