Economic importance of forestry-related sectors in the provincial and northwestern regional economy of Alberta

This study examines the importance of forestry-related sectors relative to other resource sectors in the North West Region (NWR) of Alberta and the Alberta economy as a whole. A supply-side input-output analysis is conducted to achieve this task. The results indicate that the logging sector has the greatest potential among all resource sectors in generating output in Alberta for every additional unit of capital input. In the NWR, the pulp and paper sector is shown to be the key sector in generating output when compared to the other resource sectors. However, both logging and pulp and paper sectors are only next to the agricultural sector in generating employment for each unit of capital input. Results show that the energy sector has the least potential in generating output and employment both in the province and region.