Relation with input-output analysis

Abstract

There is an interesting analogy between the technology matrix and the inventory problem on the one hand and an analytical tool for investigating industrial dependencies on the other hand. This latter type of analysis is called input-output analysis, or sometimes inter-industry analysis, and it has been introduced by Wassily Leontief around 1930. This chapter discusses the basic principles of input-output analysis (IOA) as originally introduced by Leontief, with an emphasis on its environmental extensions, and proceeds to discuss to important applications of IOA in relation to LCA: replacement of LCA by IOA, and combination of LCA and IOA. This chapter does not provide a comprehensive treatment of IOA; for this, the reader is referred to texts like Miller & Blair (1985) and Duchin & Steenge (1999).