Historical comparison of construction sectors in the United States, Japan, Italy and Finland using input–output tables

This paper uses the input–output tables compiled since World War II in four advanced industrial countries – United States, Japan, Italy, and Finland – to analyse the role of construction in their economies. Several questions are discussed: How does the construction sector interact with other sectors of the economy? How does this interaction change over time? How does it differ from country to country? The paper first briefly introduces the input–output data and the indicators used for comparative analysis. For reasons of space, the historical values of these indicators are presented only in graphical form. Next, the paper compares the construction sector in the four countries in terms of their shares in gross national product and national income, direct and total backward and forward linkage indicators, and direct and total inputs from manufacturing and service sectors. Special attention is paid to changes in construction technology, that is, changes in the relative shares of manufacturing and service sectors in the input profile of the construction sector. For reasons of space again, the emphasis is placed on international comparisons, rather than on intersectoral comparisons. Finally, the main findings and directions for future research are summarized.