Page 36 - Azerbaijan State University of Economics

THE JOURNAL OF ECONOMIC SCIENCES: THEORY AND PRACTICE, V.71, # 1, 2014, pp. 26-39

The differences between the domestic and total (domestic plus imports) forward linkages

volume, indicate those industries with the greatest potential to replace imported goods. As would

be expected none (or lightly) traded industries such as construction, distribution, road transport,

electricity, etc., have little or no additional sales potential, and are thus demoted in the total

forward linkage rankings (see table (2) above). Refinery and refine product has the highest

forward linkage; however, this is a natural phenomenon as it supplying most of the sectors of the

economy with its output. Notwithstanding, both crude oil and natural gas and refinery and

refined products sectors are fully depending on imports for their inputs which, is highly unlikely

and quite infeasible to (contemplate)substitute. Iron and steel, other chemical products, crops and

other agriculture and paper and paper products sector are all shown to have untapped markets,

and hence their activities ought to be enhanced, developed and expanded.

Further to its status as a key sector, iron and steel products sector is also seen to have some

potential for import substitution (see tables (1) and (2)).

By and large, the above driven positive effect is resulting from assuming that the economy

is pursuing a strategy for selective import substitution of given commodities. This, however, may

not be possible for some sectors at present time, but it is an indicative approach where various

selective economically viable sectors of the national economy have been identified as feasible

potentials, to be used as main ingredients for future strategy of import substitution, particularly,

for the competitive imported commodities segment.

5. Conclusions

This report represent the first attempt of using quantitative and analytical models to

analyze some important aspects of the Jordanian economy in recent years, based on actually

collected comprehensive statistical data on a highly disaggregated sectoral level. The results of

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