An input–output analysis of virtual water uses of the three economic sectors in Beijing

Abstract

In this paper a review of virtual water in Beijing is provided using input–output techniques, showing that importing virtual water reached 1790 million m³ in 2004 and 1840 million m³ in 2007, accounting for 37.5% and 34.6%, respectively, of the water footprint of the three economic sectors in Beijing. Virtual water has played an important role in supporting the regional economic development.

Keywords:

• Beijing
• virtual water
• input–output analysis
• cumulative water use coefficient
• water footprint
• economic sectors

Acknowledgement

The paper is supported by the Beijing Natural Science Foundation (Grant No. 8083027) and National Science and Technology Supporting Topic (Grant No. 2006BAD20B06). Thanks are also due to the two anonymous reviewers for their insightful comments on earlier version of this paper.

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