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A Visualization Method of the Economic Input–Output Table: Mapping Monetary Flows in the Form of Sankey Diagrams

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  • Chinhao Chong

    (Tsinghua-BP Clean Energy Research and Education Centre, State Key Laboratory of Power Systems, Department of Energy and Power Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
    Tsinghua-Rio Tinto Joint Research Centre for Resources, Energy and Sustainable Development, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China)

  • Xi Zhang

    (National Center for Climate Change Strategy and International Cooperation, Beijing 100035, China)

  • Geng Kong

    (Tsinghua-BP Clean Energy Research and Education Centre, State Key Laboratory of Power Systems, Department of Energy and Power Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
    TCL Technology Group, Shenzhen 518052, China)

  • Linwei Ma

    (Tsinghua-BP Clean Energy Research and Education Centre, State Key Laboratory of Power Systems, Department of Energy and Power Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
    Tsinghua-Rio Tinto Joint Research Centre for Resources, Energy and Sustainable Development, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China)

  • Zheng Li

    (Tsinghua-BP Clean Energy Research and Education Centre, State Key Laboratory of Power Systems, Department of Energy and Power Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China)

  • Weidou Ni

    (Tsinghua-BP Clean Energy Research and Education Centre, State Key Laboratory of Power Systems, Department of Energy and Power Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China)

  • Eugene-Hao-Chen Yu

    (Tsinghua-BP Clean Energy Research and Education Centre, State Key Laboratory of Power Systems, Department of Energy and Power Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China)

Abstract

The input–output table and input–output method have been widely used to understand complex economic structures and are often used in cross-disciplinary research between economics and other disciplines, such as analysis of embodied energy, carbon footprints, the water–food nexus, etc. However, when researchers present these results to audiences, especially policymakers, they often lack an effective visualization tool to present (1) the full picture of the input–output table; (2) the complicated upstream–downstream nexus, and (3) the input–output relationships between the economic sectors. Therefore, a better visualization method is developed to solve this problem. We propose mapping an input–output table into a Sankey diagram, a so-called monetary allocation Sankey diagram. We first designed the mapping structure of a monetary allocation Sankey diagram according to the general structure of an economic monetary input–output table to establish the correspondence nexus between the table and diagram. We used China as a case study to demonstrate the usage of the monetary allocation Sankey diagram. The purpose of the monetary allocation Sankey diagram is to help people understand the input–output table in a short time and quickly grasp the big picture of the economic system. To verify whether this goal is achieved, we presented and applied these Sankey diagrams on different occasions and obtained evaluations from scholars from different academic backgrounds. The evaluation shows that the monetary allocation Sankey diagram is not only a visualization result of the input–output table but also a miniature model of the economic system, which allows people to “truly observe” the complex input–output relationship and upstream–downstream nexus in the economic system. Researchers can quickly grasp the main features of the economic system by observing the miniature model, or they can use this miniature model as an auxiliary tool to introduce the economic system and its inherent complex relationships to the audience.

Suggested Citation

  • Chinhao Chong & Xi Zhang & Geng Kong & Linwei Ma & Zheng Li & Weidou Ni & Eugene-Hao-Chen Yu, 2021. "A Visualization Method of the Economic Input–Output Table: Mapping Monetary Flows in the Form of Sankey Diagrams," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(21), pages 1-56, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:13:y:2021:i:21:p:12239-:d:673148
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