This title was first published in 2002. Providing the first comprehensive systematic assessment of the social accounting matrix (SAM) in twenty developing countries, Solomon Cohen introduces key research in the area and looks at its practical applications. Divided into two parts, the first part of each chapter: -Deals with the construction and structural analysis of the SAM -Examines refinements of the SAM as a self-contained model of the economy; study of SAM multipliers of growth and distribution -Explores decompositions of multiplier effects and cross-country and inter-temporal comparative analysis of changing economic structures. The second part looks at the SAM as a modular framework and a database, which can be flexibly used in economic policy modelling. This valuable reference, and the accompanying volume Social Accounting or Industrial and Transition Economies will be an essential addition to the bookshelves of researchers, instructors, policy makers, scholars and libraries.