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Abstract
Closely related industries are often aggregated in US forest sector economic contribution analysis, yet the choice of aggregation scheme can influence results. The Impact Analysis for Planning (IMPLAN) system is the most widely applied input–output model for forest economic contribution analysis in the US. In IMPLAN, the level of industry aggregation determines which inter-industry transactions are restricted, thereby influencing the magnitude of estimated indirect and induced effects. Although IMPLAN practitioners can model individual industries to avoid aggregation bias, they must still decide whether to analyze forest industries as a single group, as traditional subsectors, or individually. This decision can alter estimated economic contributions and the conclusions drawn from them. This study evaluates how three aggregation approaches affect economic contribution estimates for the Kentucky forest sector: analyzing all forest industries as a single group, as six traditional subsectors, and individually. Direct contributions were identical across all approaches. However, indirect and induced effects differed significantly between the single-group approach and both the subsector and individual-industry approaches. These differences indicate that aggregation is not simply a reporting choice but has measurable, systematic effects on contribution estimates. Clear specification and justification of aggregation choices are therefore essential in forest economic contribution analysis.
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2026
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
https://doi.org/10.3390/f17050567
Funding Information
The McIntire-Stennis Program of the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, U.S. Department of Agriculture supported this work under Project Number 1018771. The research was partly supported through the Sarkeys Distinguished Professorship at Oklahoma State University.
Repository Citation
Agyeman, Domena A.; Ochuodho, Thomas; and Joshi, Omkar, "Aggregation Bias in Multi-Industry Economic Contribution Analysis: The Case of Kentucky Forest Sector" (2026). Forestry and Natural Resources Faculty Publications. 54.
https://uknowledge.uky.edu/forestry_facpub/54
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Forest Sciences Commons, Natural Resource Economics Commons, Natural Resources and Conservation Commons, Natural Resources Management and Policy Commons
Notes/Citation Information
© 2026 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license.