The Relationship between Multiregional Input-Output Table and Spatial Economy in the New Economic Geography Theory

The existence of spatial disequilibrium has been the main concern of planners, analysts and policy makers in Iran. One of key aspect of analyzing the issue is to consider the spatial dimensions of economic activities. To deal with the issue, two factors are taken into account: 1) the relationship between the spatial agglomeration and linkages of economic activities framework of the New Geography, and 2) the measurement of clusters as criteria of agglomeration in the multiregional input-output model. For this purpose, input-output table of nine regions covering 19 sectors for the year 2001 has been used in order to answer the question: Can the application of linkages in the terms of clusters highlights the spatial disequilibrium of intra- and inter-regional agglomeration of economic activities? Thus, totally eight sectors (agriculture, mining, coke and petroleum refining products, chemical, basic metals, water, electricity and gas, construction and services) for region 4 (provinces of Isfahan, Chahar Mahal Bakhtiari, Khuzestan and extra region) and region 6 (provinces of Tehran, Qom and Alborz) have been analyzed. The findings reveal that the spatial agglomeration of agriculture, coke and petroleum refining products and chemical sectors in region 4 are more important than in region 6, while the spatial agglomeration of services, construction and water, electricity and gas sectors are of high importance in region