Measuring output structures of multinational construction industries using the World Input‒Output Database

Abstract

In the context of international movement towards trade liberalization, increasing technological progress, open competition and social development have impacted deeply on the construction industry in all economies. Using the World InputÀOutput Database (WIOD), a multinational comparison of the construction industry is estimated from 1995 to 2011 to provide accurate and valid information on the changing patterns of its output structure. The output coefficients for 37 countries and regions are formulated to allow for inter-industry comparisons and to identify the major components of construction output. Changes of output structure are then elaborated over time across countries and regions. The research findings presented in this paper would provide a framework for identifying the output structure of a nation's construction industry and its change trends at an international level, which may help policymakers and enterprises with the formulation of their future development strategies.

Diversification in the international construction business

“…Unlike the traditional image that construction is seen as a local business predominantly using local people, skills, and materials, many of today's firms operate globally outside their home countries. In the context of globalization and the open market, the construction industry and construction activities have inevitably been affected by external factors over the past decades (Liu and Zhu 2017). Economic globalisation, advanced technology, fast transportation, convenient communications, effective knowledge transfer, integrated markets, and trade liberalisation have all helped the construction business traverse traditional national boundaries into the international arena (Lu et al 2013, Lu et al 2014.…”