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!4 July 2009. National Accounts: The Way Forward? Shlomo Yitzhaki. Considerations regarding future revisions of SNA Kirsten Wismer, Director of Economic Statistics, Statistics Denmark Justification, criteria, implementability considerations for revisions – developing country perspective
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!4 July 2009 National Accounts: The Way Forward? Shlomo Yitzhaki • Considerations regarding future revisions of SNA • Kirsten Wismer, Director of Economic Statistics, Statistics Denmark • Justification, criteria, implementability considerations for revisions – developing country perspective • Omi Kelsom Elias, Director, National Accounts Statistics Division, Department of Statistics, Malaysia • Governance, mandate and functions • Karen Wilson, Director General, System of National Accounts Branch, Statistics Canada
Targets of National Accounts International comparisons of level of well-being (or Economic Strength) Internal purpose: identifying the business cycle
Changes in the environment • Globalization (multi-national production, trade) • High-tech –Winner takes all • Service economy • Financial Sector (risk analysis)
Users’ Demands • Adjustment to Growth Theory • Usefulness in predicting crisises • Evaluation of Government Efficiency • Stiglitz Report • Accrual Accounting: Pensions, Human Capital, reputation, risk …etc..
Is it a question of administrative capacity • Prices are a function of income distribution and income distribution is a function of prices • Difference between value and price (19th century water vs. diamonds). • Non-tradable • Difference in valuation of non-market activity (e.g. human capital as a consumption good, over education).
The starting point • Easy to make irrelevant valuations • Need to prevent comparison of non-comparable (unobserved economy, Different involvement of government) different • Imputations: need to differentiate between stocks and flows • Conclusion: No easy solution
Stat-Denmark recommendations • No continuous updating and stability Required for comparability both over time and between countries 25 years – seems like a starting offer Procedures laid down up front – reasonable Close cooperation with other statistical areas - not clear. Who is responsible?
STAT-Denmark-recommendations NA is a core of a broader… A recommendation for satellite accounts – less ambitious more practical
Governance- Statistics Canada • Establishing of research agenda-academic views Question: May be unbalanced Consensus building process Question: How to do it? Final Governance.. Question: Is there an alternative?