ABSTRACT
This chapter presents the array of choices facing a user and describe the factors that would be appropriate to include in making a choice. The concerns for regional development and funding requirements have led to increased use of analytic models to assess economic impacts. The combination of these lowered costs and increases in derived demand has led both to the increased popularity of input-output with regional analysts and to an expanded market supply of input-output “tools” and “ready-made,” often commercially available, modeling systems. The process of choosing a regional input-output model entails the matching of the model requirements to the resources available and matching the desired output to the output the model can provide. The best choice of a regional input-output model will depend on the “fit” of the model to the resources and objectives of the user. Meaningful analysis will depend more on the care taken in using any model than on the choice of the model to use.
