Abstract
Multiregional input–output (MRIO) databases are used to analyze the impact of
resource use and environmental impacts along global supply chains. To accurately
account for pressures and impacts that are highly concentrated in specifc sectors or
regions of the world, such as agricultural and land-use-related impacts, MRIO databases
are being fueled by increasingly more detailed data. To date no MRIO database exists
which couples a high level of harmonized sector detail with high country resolution.
Currently available databases either aggregate minor countries into rest-of-the-world
(WIOD and EXIOBASE 3), or the high country resolution is achieved at the cost of nonharmonized or lower sectoral detail (Eora, OECD-ICIO or the GTAP-MRIO). This aggrega‑
tion can cause potentially signifcant diferences in environmental and socioeconomic
impact calculations. In this paper, we describe the development of an EXIOBASE 3
variant that expands regional coverage from 49 regions to 214 countries, while keeping
the high and harmonized sectoral detail. We show the relevance of disaggregation
for land-use accounting. Previous rest-of-the-world regions supply one-third of global
land, which is used to produce a large range of diferent products under very diferent
levels of productivity. We fnd that the aggregation of regions leads to a diference in
the balance of land embodied in trade of up to 6% and a diference of land embodied
in imports of up to 68% for individual countries and up to 600% for land-use-relevant
sectors. Whilst the database can still be considered experimental, it is expected to
increase the accuracy of estimates for environmental footprint studies of the original
EXIOBASE countries, and provides the frst estimates for the countries in the previous
rest-of-the world.
resource use and environmental impacts along global supply chains. To accurately
account for pressures and impacts that are highly concentrated in specifc sectors or
regions of the world, such as agricultural and land-use-related impacts, MRIO databases
are being fueled by increasingly more detailed data. To date no MRIO database exists
which couples a high level of harmonized sector detail with high country resolution.
Currently available databases either aggregate minor countries into rest-of-the-world
(WIOD and EXIOBASE 3), or the high country resolution is achieved at the cost of nonharmonized or lower sectoral detail (Eora, OECD-ICIO or the GTAP-MRIO). This aggrega‑
tion can cause potentially signifcant diferences in environmental and socioeconomic
impact calculations. In this paper, we describe the development of an EXIOBASE 3
variant that expands regional coverage from 49 regions to 214 countries, while keeping
the high and harmonized sectoral detail. We show the relevance of disaggregation
for land-use accounting. Previous rest-of-the-world regions supply one-third of global
land, which is used to produce a large range of diferent products under very diferent
levels of productivity. We fnd that the aggregation of regions leads to a diference in
the balance of land embodied in trade of up to 6% and a diference of land embodied
in imports of up to 68% for individual countries and up to 600% for land-use-relevant
sectors. Whilst the database can still be considered experimental, it is expected to
increase the accuracy of estimates for environmental footprint studies of the original
EXIOBASE countries, and provides the frst estimates for the countries in the previous
rest-of-the world.