Development of the OECD Inter Country Input‑Output Database 2018

This document describes the sources and methods used to construct the 2018 edition of OECD’s Inter-Country Input-Output (ICIO) tables. ICIO tables provide a globally balanced view of the domestic and international flows of goods and services used as intermediate inputs into production and to meet final demand. Development of ICIO tables accelerated in 2010 following the collapse in international trade during the 2008-09 global financial crisis and subsequent calls for a better understanding of the complex economic linkages between countries and regions due to the increasing prevalence of global value chains (GVCs). Demand from trade policy analysts for indicators of Trade in Value Added, as a complement to traditional bilateral trade statistics, was a key impetus for producing ICIO tables. The tables also provide a key tool for addressing other policy issues related to globalisation, such as employment in GVCs (including gender aspects), trade in embodied carbon and the impacts of economic shocks.