ABSTRACT
The analyst using Input/Output (I/O) for structural analysis at the national level has advantages over I/O analysts at the subnational level. At the national level, analysts often find data more clearly defined and often more available. To understand the size of American agriculture and its role in the United States (US) economy, it helps to examine individual contributions within the agricultural economy, and then to view agriculture as part of the economic whole. Having access to data consistent with national income and product accounts data and dealing with a more complete economy where regional leakages cancel make structural analysis at the national level somewhat easier. In the Economic Research Service, input-output analysis is used to do structural analysis in at least three major ways - measuring the impact of agricultural trade, defining the US Food and Fiber System, and measuring the economywide effects of agricultural policy proposals.
