Abstract:

We propose two distinct approaches to the measurement of industry upstreamness (or average distance from final use) and show that they yield an equivalent measure. Furthermore, we provide two additional interpretations of this measure, one of them related to the concept of forward linkages. We construct this measure for 426 industries using the 2002 US input-output Tables. We also construct our measure using data from selected countries in the OECD STAN database. Finally, we present an application of our measure that explores the determinants of the average upstreamness of exports at the country level using trade flows for 2002.

Notes:

Published versions have been posted with the written permission of the journals where they appeared. Standard copyright rules apply. Please download and print for personal use only. Davin Chor's website, Thibault Fally's website, Russell Hillberry's website

DOI:10.1257/aer.102.3.412