A Review of Regional Economic Models for Alaska Fisheries

Preface

There are many regional economic models in the literature, and a limited number have been used to investigate the impacts of fishery management policies on communities. However, there is no formal study in the literature that provides a thorough, comparative evaluation of the regional economic models that have been, or can be, used for regional impact analysis for fisheries. In Part I, we describe the Alaska seafood industry, discuss the importance of the industry to the state economy, and indicate the importance of regional economic analysis for the Alaska seafood industry. Next a theoretical overview of regional economic models is provided. Specifically, we discuss major features of each type of regional economic model – economic base model (EB), input-output model (IO), social accounting matrix model (SAM), supplied-determined model, and computable general equilibrium model (CGE). Finally, a comparative discussion of these models is also provided. While Part I focuses on a theoretical review of regional economic models, Part II discusses applications of those regional economic models to fisheries. These include input-output (IO) models, which have been used in many previous studies of regional economic impacts for fisheries, the Fisheries Economic Assessment Model (FEAM), which has been one of the major analytical tools used to examine the impacts of fisheries on the West Coast and in Alaska, and the first regional computable general equilibrium (CGE) model used for fisheries in a U.S. region. In addition, some issues related to specifying such models for Alaska fisheries, and perspectives on regional economic modeling for Alaska fisheries are discussed. (Click here for the report)

Source: Seung, C.K. and E.C. Waters. 2005. A Review of Regional Economic Models for Alaska Fisheries. Alaska Fisheries Science Center Processed Report 2005-01. National Marine Fisheries Service, U.S. Department of Commerce.

For more information, please contact: Chang.Seung@noaa.gov