A Comparison of Regional and National Technical Structures

Numerous studies using appropriate input-output tables have compared the underlying technical structures of different national economies. Due to the lack of necessary data, however, there have been considerably fewer studies of variations in regional technical structures within a given national economy. The evidence which is available is ambiguous in demonstrating whether regional industry technologies differ significantly from equivalent national technologies. Limited evidence on regional variations in technical structures is presented by comparing the structures of the Scottish and UK general economies. Comparable input-output tables for the 2 areas are used. It was established that Scotland and the UK conform to a general block triangular pattern of technical interdependence. The economic significance of this finding is that it means the 2 areas employ production processes which are drawn from the same broad set of technically feasible input/output transformations used by most industrialized countries. Appendices.