The Impact of Fisheries on the Economy: A Systematic Review on the Application of General Equilibrium and Input–Output Methods

Abstract

In this paper, a systematic literature review on the impact of fisheries on the economy and the application of the computable general equilibrium (CGE) and input–output (IO) methods for assessing this impact is conducted. The importance of fisheries as a food source, the over exploitation of this resource, and, consequently, the impact of fisheries on the economy are the motivations behind this study. By reviewing the applications of two of the most common economic modelling tools, we aim to shine light on the state of the art and how the impact of fisheries on the economy has been addressed in the literature. In this analysis, three main themes of socio-economic, ecological, and environmental have been identified, and the application of these methods in each theme has been considered. The results show that while IO methods continue to be applied in the literature, the CGE method has experienced increased application recently, and future applications are anticipated due to its enhanced capabilities in comparison with IO models.