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The revision to the 1993 System of National Accounts - what does it change?
Highlights these changes and provides, where possible, a preliminary evaluation of the possible impact on key variables
Author: Charles Aspden
Economic & Labour Market Review, vol 2, no 2, pp 42-47. ISSN: 1751-8334
Recent changes in the way the economy works require adjustments in how statistics are compiled, both in the classifications and the theoretical frameworks used to run statistical surveys and produce macroeconomic statistics. In 2003, the United Nations Statistical Commission officially called for an update of the 1993 System of National Accounts (SNA) to bring this pre-eminent international statistical standard into line with the new economic environment, advances in methodological research and the needs of users. The more salient changes to the 1993 SNA relate to the recording of pension schemes, the role of research and development as investment and military expenditure as capital formation, and the treatment of trade in goods for processing. This article highlights such changes and provides, where possible, a preliminary evaluation of the possible impact on these key variables.
Published in web format: 11 February 2008 at 9:30 am
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