A New Measurement for International Fragmentation of the Production Process: An International Input-Output Approach

The paper investigates the possibility of constructing a new measurement for analysing international fragmentation of the production process. It asserts that the current usage of relevant data, whether the trade shares of parts and components or the index of Vertical Specialisation, is quite unsatisfactory for measuring the phenomenon, since they critically lack the overall perspective of the entire structure of production chains. 　The new measurement is formulated such that it captures every aspect of the vertical sequence of production linkages. It is based on the input-output model of Average Propagation Lengths, recently developed by Eric Dietzenbacher and others, which show the average number of production stages that are passed through for an exogenous change in one industry to affect another. By applying this model to the data of the Asian International Input-Output Tables, the index is able to measure the international dimension of production sharing and division of labour in East Asia.

Production Networks and Spatial Economic Interdependence: An International Input-Output Analysis of the Asia-Pacific Region

The Asia-Pacific Region has enjoyed remarkable economic growth in the last three decades. This rapid economic growth can be partially attributed to the global spread of production networks, which has brought about major changes in spatial interdependence among economies within the region. By applying an Input-Output based spatial decomposition technique to the Asian International Input-Output Tables for 1985 and 2000, this paper not only analyzes the intrinsic mechanism of spatial economic interdependence, but also shows how value added, employment and CO2 emissions induced are distributed within the international production networks.

Measuring global value chains and regional economic integration : an international input-output approach

Firms that are expanding their cross-border activities, such as vertical specialization trade, outsourcing, and fragmentation productions, have brought dramatic changes to the global economy during the last two decades. In an attempt to understand the evolution of the interaction among countries or country groups, many trade-statistics-based indicators have been developed. However, most of these statistics focus on showing the direct trade-specific-relationship among countries, rather than considering the roles that intercountry and interindustrial production networks play in a global economy. This paper uses the concepts of trade in value added as measured by the input–output tables of OECD and IDE-JETRO to provide alternative indicators that show the evolution of regional economic integration and global value chains for more than 50 economies. In addition, this paper provides thoughts on how to evaluate comparative advantages on the basis of value added using an international input–output model.