BI-REGIONAL SAM LINKAGES: A MODIFIED BACKWARD AND FORWARD DISPERSION APPROACH.

The aim of the paper is to apply a new backward and forward dispersion approach, starting from the original Rasmussen definition, which can give further insight into the interactions between industries and institutional sectors in a multiregional framework. The method is based on identification of the Macro Multipliers and the related impact components of a model based on a bi-regional SAM, which allows for the representation of the bi-regional multisectoral and multi-industry model in a two-dimensional space defined by the two dominating impact components. From such representation, we derive a set of indices of intraregional and interregional backward and forward dispersion that identifies key groups of industries and institutional sectors. The strength of these groups is further evaluated in terms of correlation of the impact components within the groups and cross-correlation between industry and institutional sectors groups. Comparative analysis among regional results gives a full picture of regional income policies. 1. Introduction