Editing National accounts (section)

==Scope==
National accounts broadly present output, expenditure, and income activities of the economic actors (households, corporations, government) in an economy, including their relations with other countries' economies, and their wealth (net worth). They present both [[Stock and flow|flows]] (measured but it is over a period) and ''[[Stock and flow|stocks]]'' (measured at the end of a period), ensuring that the flows are reconciled with the stocks. As to flows, the [[National Income and Product Accounts|national income and product accounts]] (in U.S. terminology) provide estimates for the money value of income and output per year or quarter, including [[Gross domestic product|GDP]]. As to stocks, the 'capital accounts' are a [[balance sheet|balance-sheet]] approach that has assets on one side (including values of land, the [[Capital (economics)|capital]] stock, and financial assets) and liabilities and [[Wealth (economics)|net worth]] on the other, measured as of the end of the accounting period.  National accounts also include measures of the changes in assets, liabilities, and net worth per accounting period.  These may refer to [[Flow of Funds|flow of funds]] accounts or, again, [[capital account]]s.<ref name="Ruggles"/>

There are a number of aggregate measures in the national accounts, notably including gross domestic product or [[Gross domestic product|GDP]], perhaps the most widely cited measure of aggregate economic activity. Ways of breaking down GDP include as types of [[Measures of national income and output#The income approach|income]] (wages, profits, etc.) or [[Measures of national income and output#The expenditure approach|expenditure]] (consumption, investment/saving, etc.). Measures of these are examples of [[macroeconomic|macro]]-[[economic data]].<ref>Referred to in the ''Journal of Economic Literature'' [[JEL classification codes|classification codes]] under [[JEL classification codes#Mathematical and quantitative methods JEL: C Subcategories|JEL: C8 - Data Collection and Data Estimation Methodology]] and [[JEL classification codes#Macroeconomics and monetary economics JEL: E Subcategories|JEL: E01 - Measurement and Data on National Income and Product Accounts and Wealth]].</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=T. P. Hill |title=International Encyclopedia of the Social & Behavioral Sciences |chapter=Macroeconomic Data |year=2001 |pages=9111–9117 |doi=10.1016/B0-08-043076-7/02228-2|isbn=978-0-08-043076-8 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |first1=François |last1=Lequiller |first2=Derek |last2=Blades |year=2006 |title=Understanding National Accounts |publisher= OECD |url=http://www.oecdbookshop.org/oecd/display.asp?sf1=identifiers&st1=9789264025660}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BEFmbH-TNJMC&pg=PA5 |title=Understanding National Accounts - Lequiller François, Derek W. Blades - Google Boeken |date= 2006-01-01|access-date=2013-03-25|isbn=9789264025660 |last1=François |first1=Lequiller |last2=Blades |first2=Derek W. |last3=Derek |first3=Blades |publisher=OECD }}</ref> Such aggregate measures and their change over time are generally of strongest interest to economic policymakers, although the detailed national accounts contain a source of information for economic analysis, for example in the [[Input-output model|input-output tables]] which show how industries interact with each other in the production process.

National accounts can be presented in [[Real versus nominal value (economics)|nominal or real amounts]], with real amounts adjusted to remove the effects of price changes over time.<ref>• [[Amartya Sen]], 1979. "The Welfare Basis of Real Income Comparisons: A Survey," ''Journal of Economic Literature'', 17(1), p [https://www.jstor.org/stable/2723639 p. 1]–45.<br/>&nbsp;&nbsp; • D. Usher, 1987. "real income," The New Palgrave: A Dictionary of Economics'', v. 4, p. 104.</ref> A corresponding [[price index]] can also be derived from national output.  Rates of change of the price level and output may also be of interest. An [[inflation rate]] (growth rate of the price level) may be calculated for national output or its expenditure components.  [[Economic growth]] rates (most commonly the growth rate of GDP) are generally measured in real (constant-price) terms. One use of economic-growth data from the national accounts is in [[growth accounting]] across longer periods of time for a country or across to estimate different sources of growth, whether from growth of [[factors of production|factor inputs]] or [[technological change]].<ref>From ''[[The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics]]'', 2008, 2nd Edition, with Abstract links:<br/>&nbsp;&nbsp; •  "[http://www.dictionaryofeconomics.com/article?id=pde2008_G000209&edition=current&q=national%20economic%20accounting&topicid=&result_number=3 economic growth]" by Peter Howitt and David N. Weil<br/>&nbsp;&nbsp; • "[http://www.dictionaryofeconomics.com/article?id=pde2008_G000126 growth accounting]" by Francesco Caselli.</ref>

The accounts are derived from a wide variety of [[statistics|statistical]] source data including [[Statistical survey|surveys]], administrative and census data, and regulatory data, which are integrated and harmonized in the conceptual framework.  They are usually compiled by national statistical offices and/or central banks in each country, though this is not always the case, and may be released on both an annual and (less detailed) quarterly frequency. Practical issues include inaccuracies from differences between economic and accounting methodologies, lack of controlled experiments on quality of data from diverse sources, and measurement of [[Intangible asset|intangibles]] and services of the banking and financial sectors.<ref>• [[Oskar Morgenstern]], 1963. ''On the Accuracy of Economic Observations'',  2nd ed. [http://cowles.econ.yale.edu/P/cm/m13/m13-16.pdf ch. 16]. Princeton.<br/>&nbsp;&nbsp; • H. O. Stekler, 1964. [Review], ''Journal of the American Statistical Association'', 59(307),  pp. [https://www.jstor.org/pss/2283115 965]-967.<br/>&nbsp;&nbsp; • J. Steven Landefeld, Eugene P. Seskin, and Barbara M. Fraumeni. 2008. "Taking the Pulse of the Economy: Measuring GDP." ''Journal of Economic Perspectives'', 22(2), pp. 193–216. PDF [https://www.bea.gov/about/pdf/jep_spring2008.pdf link] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170809160504/https://www.bea.gov/about/pdf/jep_spring2008.pdf |date=August 9, 2017 }} (press '''+''').<br/>&nbsp;&nbsp; From ''The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics'', 2nd Edition, with Abstract links:<br/>&nbsp;&nbsp;• [http://www.dictionaryofeconomics.com/article?id=pde2008_I000299&edition=&field=keyword&q=national%20accounting&topicid=&result_number=2 "intangible capital"]  by Daniel E. Sichel<br/>&nbsp;&nbsp; •  [http://www.dictionaryofeconomics.com/article?id=pde2008_N000007&q=national%20income&topicid=&result_number=1 "national income"] by Thomas K. Rymes.</ref>

Two developments relevant to the national accounts since the 1980s include the following. [[Generational accounting]] is a method for measuring redistribution of lifetime [[tax burden]]s across generations from [[social insurance]], including [[social security]] and [[social health insurance]].  It has been proposed as a better guide to the sustainability of a [[fiscal policy]] than [[budget deficit]]s, which reflect only taxes minus spending in the current year.<ref>• ''[[The Economist]]'', Economics A-Z, [http://www.economist.com/research/Economics/searchActionTerms.cfm?query=generational+accounting "Generational Accounting."] Accessed 9 Aug. 2010.<br/>&nbsp;&nbsp; • Jagadeesh Gokhale, 2008. "generational accounting." ''[[The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics]]'', 2nd Edition. [http://www.dictionaryofeconomics.com/article?id=pde2008_G000203&q=generational%20accounting&topicid=&result_number=1 Abstract] and  [https://web.archive.org/web/20070613041057/http://www.cato.org/pubs/articles/gokhale-generational_accounting.pdf uncorrected proof].<br/>&nbsp;&nbsp; • [[Laurence J. Kotlikoff]], 1992. ''Generational Accounting: Knowing Who Pays, and When, for What We Spend''. Free Press. Review [http://ntj.tax.org/wwtax/ntjrec.nsf/D119187747E6619285256863004B1F2F/$FILE/v49n4597.pdfhttps://www.jstor.org/pss/4007493 extract]{{Dead link|date=September 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}.</ref> [[Environmental accounting|Environmental]] or [[green national accounting]] is the method of valuing [[environmental assets]], which are usually not  counted in measuring national wealth, in part due to the difficulty of valuing them. The method has been proposed as an alternative to an implied zero valuation of environmental assets and as a way of measuring the [[Sustainable economy|sustainability]] of welfare levels in the presence of [[environmental degradation]].<ref>From The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics, 2008, 2nd Edition, with Abstract links:<br/>&nbsp;&nbsp; •  "[http://www.dictionaryofeconomics.com/article?id=pde2008_G000196&edition=current&q=environment&topicid=&result_number=5 green national accounting]" by Sjak Smulders<br/>&nbsp;&nbsp; • "[http://www.dictionaryofeconomics.com/article?id=pde2008_S000482&edition=current&q=sustainability&topicid=&result_number=1 sustainability]' by Daniel W. Bromley<br/>&nbsp;&nbsp; • National Research Council, 1994. ''Assigning Economic Value to Natural Resources'', National Academy Press. Chapter [http://books.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=4844&page=R1 links.]</ref>

Macro[[economic data]] not derived from the national accounts are also of wide interest, for example some [[cost-of-living index]]es, the [[unemployment rate]], and the [[labor force participation rate]].<ref>•  Robert Topel, 2008. "unemployment," ''The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics'', 2nd Edition. [http://www.dictionaryofeconomics.com/article?id=pde2008_U000016&edition=current&q=unemployment&topicid=&result_number=1 Abstract].<br/>&nbsp;&nbsp;• Katharine Bradbury, 2008. "unemployment measurement," ''The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics'', 2nd Edition. [http://www.dictionaryofeconomics.com/article?id=pde2008_U000074&edition=current&q=unemployment&topicid=&result_number=4 Abstract].</ref>  In some cases, a national-accounts counterpart of these may be estimated, such as a [[Personal consumption expenditures price index|price index]] computed from the [[personal consumption expenditure]]s and the [[GDP gap]] (the difference between observed GDP and [[potential GDP]]).<ref>[[Robert J. Gordon]] and Peter K. Clark, 1984, "Unemployment and Potential Output in the 1980s," ''Brookings Papers on Economic Activity'', (2), pp. [http://www.brookings.edu/~/media/Files/Programs/ES/BPEA/1984_2_bpea_papers/1984b_bpea_gordon_clark.pdf  537-568] {{webarchive|url=http://arquivo.pt/wayback/20160521063357/http://www.brookings.edu/~/media/Files/Programs/ES/BPEA/1984_2_bpea_papers/1984b_bpea_gordon_clark.pdf |date=2016-05-21 }}.</ref>