Contribution

I-O Table Submission
Notes on procedures
Format specifications
Concordances
Utilities
Problem areas
Documentation
What to send us?
What do we check?

GTAP Data Bases: How to Contribute to GTAP Efforts?

While the GTAP Data Base is constructed by the Center for Global Trade Analysis, most of the datasets used are supplied by the GTAP Network - consisting of individuals, agencies and institutions from around the world. The most common contributions made by individuals in the network are individual country data (I-O tables).

The Network of GTAP users represents an excellent resource for improvement of the Data Base. Those who identify areas for improvement or extension of the Data Base are free to make this available to GTAP staff in order to have it considered for incorporation into the next release. The operational concept is: If you don't like it, help fix it!

This section is designed to assist people who would like to contribute additional regions or improve the data for current regions by contributing a regional I-O table.

As a contributor to the GTAP Data Base, you will receive free access to the final version and all interim releases of the version to which you contributed. Please review the GTAP Policy on Input-Output Table and dataset Contributors as well as the licensing agreement and general conditions of use for further details.

Important dates
The Center is continuously updating and releasing interim or pre-releases of the GTAP Data Base. Submissions to the next release are now being accepted.

How do I go about contributing a new Input-Output table?
  1. The first step is to contact the Center by emailing Angel Aguiar to discuss what you would like to contribute.

  2. The second step is to download and read GTAP Technical Paper No. 1 from the GTAP Technical Paper series. This gives you an idea of what is required. Contributing an I-O table is not just a matter of sending us your data, we require it in a specific format before it can be incorporated into the GTAP Data Base. The technical paper also explains what this format is and helps you to put your data into that format.

    PDF file Contributing Input-Output Tables to the GTAP Data Base
          by Huff, Karen, Robert McDougall and Terrie Walmsley
          GTAP Technical Paper No. 01, 2000


    Many of the issues addressed in the Technical Paper are also covered in this section of the website (see list on right hand-side for appropriate links).

    An exercise book containing easy to use programs which assist contributors with the manipulation of simple IO/SAM data into the GTAP format is also available. We strongly encourage contributors to go through these exercises.

    PDF file Exercises in Contributing I-O Tables to the GTAP Data Base
          by Horridge, Mark, Robert McDougall, Badri Narayanan and Terrie Walmsley

  3. The third is to submit your I-O table on our website. Submitting it via our website will walk you through a step-by-step process helping ensure that a) all required data is submitted and b) your data is in the proper format.

How do I find out about the current Regional Data?
A table which summarizes the source data for the current regions in the GTAP Data Base is available. For more information on the procedures used by the Center to incorporate your IO tables into the GTAP Data Base you should look at the GTAP Data Base Documentation.

Where else can I get help?
Angel Aguiar, at the Center for Global Trade Analysis, is willing to assist contributors with answers to any questions they might have about contributing an I-O table.

There are also a number of people who have significant experience contributing I-O tables to the GTAP Data Base who may be willing to provide more hands-on assistance for a fee. The Center for Global Trade Analysis can assist in putting potential contributors in touch with these individuals; however, the Center will not be party to any contractual obligations which might result from these relationships. Assistance may be purchased from Mark Horridge at the Centre of Policy Studies. If you are interested in these services please visit his website.


GTAP's Most Wanted I-O Tables
Top 10 countries missing from GTAP (by GDP and Population)
  • Algeria
  • Angola
  • Congo, Dem. Rep.
  • Iraq
  • Libya
  • Sudan
  • Syrian Arab Republic
  • Uzbekistan
  • Yemen, Rep.


GTAP Chopping Block
In the past, the Center has generally believed that providing some data, even if some of the data were missing and had to be filled with assumptions, improved information and was therefore better than no data. However as the project has grown, concerns for ensuring that the data is of high quality have mounted, particularly as the number of users has increased and their knowledge of the potentially significant differences in the quality of data across countries and sources is more uncertain. As such, the Center is increasingly asked to ensure the quality of the data that is being publicly provided. In order to address some of these concerns the Center plans to clean the database of older I-O tables and encourage the contribution of new ones. The following countries have been placed on the "Chopping Block" and are expected to be removed during version 11 if no new contribution can be obtained. The criteria used to decide which countries are to be included on the chopping block are:
  1. the age of the I-O table and
  2. the version to which the table was submitted (version 7 or prior).

Region Data Year Release Sectors Data Availability
Botswana 1994 5 57 IFPRI SAM
Mauritius 1997 6.1 42 NSO S-U tables
Panama 1996 7 27 INEC S-U tables
Uruguay 1997 7 50 BCU S-U tables
Zimbabwe 1991 5 57 UNU-WIDER SAM