The FPB’s studies take the regional dimension of the Belgian economy more and more into account. In October 2005, a new project (HERMREG) was launched in cooperation with the Belgian Regions. The project is aimed at building a regional macrosectoral model that is consistent with the national macrosectoral model, HERMES, which is used by the FPB to produce its medium-term outlooks. The new instrument should provide macrosectoral forecasts for each Belgian Region over a period of five to six years. These could provide a basis for variant analyses.
The project will lead to:
the development of a database on the regional accounts and on other aspects of the regional economies;
a first version of a model covering the key indicators of sectoral activity, i.e. added value, employment and wage mass formation, investments (mostly private), energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions;
regional activity forecasts, consistent with the national forecasts and concerning the different key indicators mentioned above. These forecasts will cover a period from one to six years.
Regional aspects are also taken into account in other current projects of the FPB, for instance regarding energy (regional long-term energy projections) and Input-Output Tables.
