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NATIONAL ACCOUNTS AS AN INSTRUMENT FOR CO‐ORDINATING ECONOMIC STATISTICS 1
Author(s) -
Ohlsson Ingvar
Publication year - 1966
Publication title -
review of income and wealth
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.024
H-Index - 57
eISSN - 1475-4991
pISSN - 0034-6586
DOI - 10.1111/j.1475-4991.1966.tb00726.x
Subject(s) - national accounts , accounting , political science , library science , economics , computer science
The national accounts can serve three functions as an instrument for the co-ordination of economic statistics: (i) They can sene for the establishment of standards for the definition and classification of economic statistics. (ii) They can provide the base for technical co-ordination in the production of statistics and for the systematization o f the contents of records. (iii) They can be used for the indirect estimation of certain magnitudes which cannot be observed directly, or for quality control through alternative calculations. The article describes the major outlines of a system o f national accounting adapted to the co-ordination of economic statistics. This system constitutes an extension of the traditional system with transactions in financial assets and liabilities, input-output (inter-industry) relations, and balance sheets. The exposition makes use of an accounting design established for an arbitrary sector, the same accounts being used for all the sectors in contrast with the customary q m t r i c a l treatment. Table 1 gives the scheme (a) o f current caccourrts, (b) of capital accounts, and (c) of balance sheet accounts. The accounting design can be associated with various groupings o f economic subjects into sectors. The article proposes that the fundamental system of nutionul accounting destined for statistid co-ordination should utilize a division of the economy into institutional sectors according to centers of decision-making. Furthermore, a division into functional sectors is essential for certain accounts, in particular the production account, the inventory account, and the real capital account. Znternational standards must be used for the classification of sectors, goods, etc. Standardized classifications for services and transfers me also necessary. The article indicates, finally, that such a system of national accounting used in connection with an integrated electronic data processing system would permit bringing to bear a general "file" system o f economic statistics.