Comparative Analysis of Regional Input-Output Matrices: the Portuguese case

Portugal is a heterogeneous territory even though it is a small country. Each region has different characteristics, which makes the country as an evident case for the need of an effective cohesion policy leading to a diminishment of regional disparities. In this paper we analyze and assess the methodologies used to build the existing regional input-output (IO) tables for Portugal. The North, Centre and the Algarve IO tables display a similar structure, while the Azores IO table has shown some differences in the structure of its information region, possibly due to their much more specific territorial characteristics. Additionally, the IO table for Beira Interior region has a different structure, which may be explained by the fact that it was published in the early 90s and based on the year 1986.