In 1976, volume 116 of the Lecture Notes in Economics and Mathematical Systems appeared in the library of the University of Illinois. The title of the book, Input-Output Analysis and the Structure of Income Distribution was sufficiently intriguing to one of the present editors (Hewings) to command attention. Some years later, during the First World Congress of the Regional Science Association in Cambridge Massachusetts in 1980, Madden and Batey presented some of their work using their now familiar demographic-economic modeling system. Discussion ensued about the relationship between this system, Miyazawa's formulation and the social accounting matrices most closely associated with the work of Stone. During a year's residence at the University of Illinois, Batey was able to produce a valuable typology of multipliers that began the process of integrating these several modeling systems into a coherent package. Thereafter, a number of regional scientists have exploited the ideas and insights proposed by Miyazawa, especially the notion of the interrelational income multiplier and the ideas of internal and external multipliers.

Graham Clarke and Moss Madden 1. 1 Background In the mid 1990s there were a number of papers in regional science that questioned the relevance and purpose of the entire sub-discipline. Bailly and Coffey (1994) for example, talked of 'regional science in crisis'. They argued that there were two fundamental problems. First, regional science was too theoretical in the sense that many of its products were models that could neither be calibrated (too complex) or operationalised (too abstract) in the real world. They suggested that regional science had not sufficiently demonstrated that it can address real-world problems and subsequently lacked a focus on relevant policy issues. Second, they argued that regional science had become too narrow in focus and had moved away too far from real people and their daily concerns or struggles in life. This was not the first time we had witnessed these sorts of arguments, both from outside the discipline and from within. Sayer (1976) was perhaps the first to argue for a shift from a model-based focus in regional science to one based on political economy. Breheny (1984) criticised the 'deep ignorance among regional scientists of the nature of practical policy making and implementation' (see also Rodwin (1987) for similar views in the mid 1980s). Such self-reflection is a feature of many disciplines as they reach maturity. There have been many similar reflections in geography (Johnston 1996, Barnes 1996) and economics (see the collection in the January edition of the Economic Journal 1991).

Graham Clarke and Moss Madden 1. 1 Background In the mid 1990s there were a number of papers in regional science that questioned the relevance and purpose of the entire sub-discipline. Bailly and Coffey (1994) for example, talked of 'regional science in crisis'. They argued that there were two fundamental problems. First, regional science was too theoretical in the sense that many of its products were models that could neither be calibrated (too complex) or operationalised (too abstract) in the real world. They suggested that regional science had not sufficiently demonstrated that it can address real-world problems and subsequently lacked a focus on relevant policy issues. Second, they argued that regional science had become too narrow in focus and had moved away too far from real people and their daily concerns or struggles in life. This was not the first time we had witnessed these sorts of arguments, both from outside the discipline and from within. Sayer (1976) was perhaps the first to argue for a shift from a model-based focus in regional science to one based on political economy. Breheny (1984) criticised the 'deep ignorance among regional scientists of the nature of practical policy making and implementation' (see also Rodwin (1987) for similar views in the mid 1980s). Such self-reflection is a feature of many disciplines as they reach maturity. There have been many similar reflections in geography (Johnston 1996, Barnes 1996) and economics (see the collection in the January edition of the Economic Journal 1991).

In 1976, volume 116 of the Lecture Notes in Economics and Mathematical Systems appeared in the library of the University of Illinois. The title of the book, Input-Output Analysis and the Structure of Income Distribution was sufficiently intriguing to one of the present editors (Hewings) to command attention. Some years later, during the First World Congress of the Regional Science Association in Cambridge Massachusetts in 1980, Madden and Batey presented some of their work using their now familiar demographic-economic modeling system. Discussion ensued about the relationship between this system, Miyazawa's formulation and the social accounting matrices most closely associated with the work of Stone. During a year's residence at the University of Illinois, Batey was able to produce a valuable typology of multipliers that began the process of integrating these several modeling systems into a coherent package. Thereafter, a number of regional scientists have exploited the ideas and insights proposed by Miyazawa, especially the notion of the interrelational income multiplier and the ideas of internal and external multipliers.

This book provides an account of developments and applications of social accounts. It concentrates particularly on the methods of social accounting that Richard Stone, Nobel Laureate in Economics, developed and applied during his long and distinguished career. The contributors to the volume examine applications of social accounts in economics and demography, addressing issues of new formulations and specifications at the national and regional levels. Economic structure and issues of structural change are investigated within the context of social accounts matrices, and Linear Expenditure Systems are used to model population change and household consumption. The importance of social accounts matrices (SAM) in generating Computable General Equilibrium (CGE) models and the enormous potential that both SAM and CGE models have for policy analysis are stressed.

This book provides a state-of-the-art account of developments and applications of the social accounting methods that Richard Stone developed and applied during his long and distinguished career, focussing on applications of social accounts in economics and demography, and addressing issues of new formulations and specifications at both national and regional levels. One theme is economic structure, and particularly issues of structural change, focussing on: changes in final demand composition; fundamental economic structure and hierarchical decomposition, all of these within the context of social accounts matrices. Another theme covers Economic-Demographic Relationships, with special focus on extended input-output models, including consistency problems, linking of macro- and micro-economic approaches and Linear Expenditure Systems. The importance of Social Accounts Matrices in generating Computable General Equilibrium models, and the enormous potential that both SAM and CGE models have for policy analysis, particularly in the interregional context, is also stressed.