#IIOA2019 - A twitter-report from the 2019 International Input-Output Association Conference

04 Jul 2019

A brief report from the 2019 International Input-Output Association Conference (IIOA2019) twitter-sphere-participation, thanks to the IIOA and Anne Owen for faciliating and organising this.

Keynote Prof. David Simpson

Read on Twitter:

“An important development is the development of physical data and satellite accounts, being matched with monetary data. There are prospects in developing further modelling techniques, to accomodate policy demands.” Keynote Prof. David Simpson at #IIOA2019 https://t.co/f0hihWnrtn

“The time has come to go beyond equilibrium analysis. Maybe we should consider the economy as a complex system, using input-output data for some of the parameters.” Prof. David Simpson at #IIOA2019 https://t.co/f0hihWnrtn

Opportunities lay ahead:

1: A rising esteem of empirical analysis. Before, macro-economists looked down at input-output analysis appraising purely mathematical reasoning. This has changed. […]

  1. More frequent data updates. Unlike in the physical sciences, few constants in the economic world. Etimates need to be revised regularly. A plea for the statistical offices: more frequent updates of interregional trade flows.
  2. Data collection and processing used to be time-consuming and costly. Thanks to electronic data capture, possibilities are extending rapidly. It may not be unimaginable that the accounting of individual businesses may be linked with the input-output accounting system.

Note: full #iioa2019 report available at https://t.co/BdXPVPbbn4

Keynote Talk Silke Stapel-Weber [DG Statistics ECB]

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#IIOA2019 keynote Silke Stapel-Weber [DG Statistics @ecb ] : “The input-output framework is there to support evidence-based policy, with objective information.”

What does it take to make the input-output framework fit for purpose?

“What our users see is the top of the iceberg, but underneath is the whole infrastructure that needs to be in place to compile the top of the iceberg. On the top we have: primary statistics, macro-economic frameworks. Underneath is the statistical infrastructure.” #IIOA2019

“There is a need to create unique statistical identifiers to link existing data, and focus on cooperation to create input-output tables that go beyond the national borders. Only with this identification we can merge and cross-check + lower the burden on those who provide data.”

“In the EU: only with unique identification you can make a fair allocation of the value added across the value chain, that does not stop at the border anymore. It causes measurement problems that need to be addressed.” #IIOA2019

“We need linked registers. It is not possible anymore for national statistical institutes to establish a residency or delination of statistical units. We need cross-border data and share those in compilation stage. Important for profiling multi-national enterprises.” #IIOA2019

“Capacity building is important. Help those who are in demand of capacity. It will not necessarily yield an article in a prestigious journal, but it makes a big difference for the life of practitioners.” #IIOA2019

“Data is a public good, but it does not come for free. We need to invest in capacities to provide those.” #IIOA2019

Question Bart Hertveldt @BFP_BE @FPB_BE

GDPR seems to turn against data-sharing, even between institutions. We have information that we can’t share. There is a need for European legislation that enables data sharing, but also imposes it.

Silke Stapel-Weber: “Statistical privacy is a principle that under no means should be compromised. It is the basis for the trust of our data reporters. What is important in that context is how we make it tractable, to keep the principle but to still put cooperation in place. But on national level nothing is forbidden, so you can just do it. We should also accommodate those efforts. And we should neither be naive, as the overall political surroundings also play a role in this” #iioa2019

Panel session on low carbon transition with Ivo Havinga, Glenn Everett, Karen Turner and Greame Sweeney

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#IIOA2019 Panel session on ‘Sustainability, Input-Output and the Low (or zero) Carbon Transition’ started https://t.co/f0hihWnrtn

Rationale: linking people who produce data [statistical offices] with people who use and produce information [academics, institutes, …]

Ivo Havinga @UNStats

“This is about the future”, and suggests to future-proof the association and workplans. The low-carbon transition could be covered more, and should be integrated more in the frameworks that are being developed.

“We want to reclaim economics for sustainable development, and consider environmental and wellbeing aspects”

“How do we elaborate the SNA and underlying data?”

Economics statistics manual will be updated, with a broader discussion on what users would like to see. Is there a need for one SNA, or do we want to have different lenses to look at it [environmental accounts, …]. Institutional transformation: dialogue about what a future-proof system is. A new landscape of data is appearing. How do we make good use of big data and micro data? We not only want macro-data, but hear about inconsistencies if compared to micro data.” /

Question from myself on physical data collection

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If it is possible to join online: “Will there be attention for immediate firm-level physical data collection in the SNA [material flows, energy use, …] to provide reliable carbon/material footprints? These data are critical to build a solid decarbonisation policy. This would allow policies such as fair individual carbon credits [credit-card style, as proposed by a UK WG in 2008], reliable decarbonisation pathway development and accurate consumption-based footprinting needed for international negotiations and domestic policy” #IIOA2019

@TheIIOA Glenn Everett @ONS mentions surprisingly that the “common language is monetary.” “We are trying to put standards in place for the SEEA accounts to get that common language#IIOA2019 and that “there are 3 defintions of material footprint in the UK, we are trying to get an estimation so people can actually use it.”

Both good and bad: still lots of work to do to get the message and data integrated in a solid decarbonisation policy framework.

Question from Maaike Bouwmeester [Eurostat]

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@EU_Eurostat […] How do we make sure that we make the big steps and giant leaps to reach this? We are talking about valuation, but this has been around for many decades. I feel that there are not many big steps we are taking soon.” #IIOA2019

I completely agree with this statement. We should just stop putting all this effort in valuating every aspect of the natural world and ‘ecosystem services’ + have a solid physical accounting framework to enable protection of what needs to be protected #IIOA2019

Question Rutger Hoekstra

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Interesting question of @Rutger_Hoekstra : “It sounds like the SNA will undergo a revolutionary review. In economics there are many different ways to look at valuation of nature, but in the discussions on the new SNA there is not much focus on different lenses.” #IIOA2019 […] https://t.co/dMKw7nShHf

@Rutger_Hoekstra -> although valuation of nature can be insightful, the decarbonisation challenge will not be tackled using market forces alone [for example the EU ETS as of today, see https://t.co/xwd9lTAeAb or https://t.co/m7SoqxGCIx]. Reliable physical data and targets are imperative #IIOA2019

Presentation Tobias Heinrich Kronenberg & Johannes Többen on the distribution of carbon emissions of primary energy use

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#IIOA2019 interesting presentation form Tobias Heinrich Kronenberg, Johannes Többen @indecol on the distribution of carbon emissions of primary energy use and production in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany and the rest of the world […]

Accounting for exports of aggregated group of primary energy prod. and use industries shows that NRW is responsible for +- 18% of emissions (?), Germany +- 55 % (?) and +- 22 % RoW #IIOA2019 […] did not hear everything precicely. Industrial approach based on WIOD IO data.

Followed by interesting discussion on policy implications of research conclusions [@dr_anneowen] and accounting also for electricity production and consumption [@kiwioice @richardw_ntnu] […] #IIOA2019

Comment on @ENTSO_E data: might be interesting to look at the paper https://t.co/UEp8pTIm07 on real-time consumption-based accounting based on flow tracing by @BoTranberg @corradio @brunolajoie @ThomasGibon @iain_staffell and Gorm Bruun Andresen https://t.co/62SR4opqGN #IIOA2019