A comparative analysis of economies of the french overseas departments through social accounting matrices[Une analyse comparative des économies des Dom à travers les matrices de comptabilité sociale]

The social accounting matrices (SAMs) describe, within a coherent macroeconomic framework, the structure of four French overseas departments: Guadeloupe, Martinique, Guyane and Reunion Island. They incorporate the input-output table for some 20 sectors, a balance of payments and the main economic flows between those regions, the neighboring regions (the Caribbean for Guadeloupe, Martinique and Guyane and the Indian Ocean for Reunion Island), the European Union (including metropolitan France) and the rest of the world. This presentation allows an immediate reading of the main macroeconomic aggregates and their mutual relations. We present the methodology for the construction of SAMs on one hand and, on the other a comparative analysis of overseas economies through the analysis of different economic accounts. We conclude our analysis by using a principal component analysis which shows a certain similarity between the Caribbean island, some differences with Guyane and a more marked distinction of the Reunion economy.