An Economic Analysis of the Roles of Metal Industries in the National Economy: The Case of Japan

Abstract

This study aims to analyze the roles of metal industries in the Japanese national economy. This study applies Input-Output (IO) analysis as an analysis instrument. More specifically, this study employs the parts of IO analysis, namely simple output multiplier, simple household income multiplier, index of the power of dispersion, and index of the sensitivity of dispersion as analysis devices. The analysis period of this study is from 1985 through 2005. In this study, the analyzed industries are non-ferrous metals, non-ferrous metal products, metal products for construction and architecture, and other metal products. The results display that, by using both multipliers, the analyzed metal industries did not include in the top five Japanese industries from 1985 through 2005. By using both indices, one can argue that the quadrant change on the analysis period was experienced by non-ferrous metals and other metal products industries. Interestingly, both industries experienced the change in 2000. On the other hand, the remaining industries did not experience the quadrant movement from 1985 through 2005. In other words, the industries showed consistency in terms of the quadrant position on the analysis period.