The Input-Output (I-O) table is now universally accepted as an effective analytical tool for the conduct of in-depth socio-economic as well as environmental studies, whether national or regional. The reason for its being widely used is because of its
capability, in a simple compacted manner, to unravel the interwoven structural interdependent relations existing in an economy and the ability to translate these economic interdependencies into empirical analysis.

The construction therefore of an I-O Account as an integrated sub-account of the
country’s National Accounts could not be undermined. While the GDP periodically
provides the aggregative measures of economic development, its usefulness as an
effective analytical database for translating development objectives into specific
programs and projects is quite limited. Knowledge and understanding of the economy’s structure in all its details thus become an indispensable input in economic planning and
policy formulation. And this type of technical information could only be retrieved through
the compilation of I-O tables.

This paper, which deals with an economic assessment based on single country
or intra-national I-O tables available provides therefore the technical insights into how
the proposed research project shall be initiated and pursued. And this can be done by
looking first at the I-O data of each country in the Region.