Wassily Leontief developed input–output analysis, the achievement recognized by his 1973 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences.
Input–output analysis studies how industries depend on one another. It represents an economy in a table showing how the output of one sector becomes an input for other sectors, businesses, households, or government. This makes it possible to trace how a change in demand can affect production throughout an economy.
Leontief developed the method in the twentieth century and used it to examine the structure of the American economy. The approach became useful in national planning, forecasting, environmental analysis, and studying supply chains.
Leontief shared the 1973 prize with no other laureate. He was born in Russia, worked in Germany and China, and spent much of his academic career in the United States. Input–output tables are still used by statistical agencies worldwide.