Abstract
The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the effects of linkage enhancement between agriculture and
food industries in a regional economy. Doto region in Hokkaido is chosen as the study area, in which
agriculture specializes in raw material production for food processing industries. In order to quantitatively analyze the effect, the inter-industrial analysis with Hokkaido regional input-output table is employed. The f,ndings are as follows: 1) The effects of inter-industrial linkage would be larger when the demand for the food processing industry sectors is raised, compared with the agricultural sectors.
2) However, much of the economic effect would leak out of Doto region since Doto region relies on the supply of raw materials from outside of the area.
3) In terms of value added and employment, the agricuiture sector wouid be of more importance. For the development of the regional economy, not only promotion of food processlng industries but also that of agriculture is necessary.
