Major Changes in the Presentation of the US National
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Transcript Major Changes in the Presentation of the US National
Major Changes in the
Presentation of the U.S. National
Accounts
Brent Moulton, Yvon Pho, and
Robert Yuskavage
Bureau of Economic Analysis
2 Major Initiatives
Conversion to the North American Industry
Classification System (NAICS) from
Standard Industrial Classification (SIC)
codes
Movement towards greater consistency with
SNA 1993 in classification and presentation
History of SIC System
Created in 1938. Since its creation, U.S. has
based its industry coding on this system
Revisions took place every 10 to 15 years to
reflect changing U.S. economy
– Last revision occurred in 1987
Creation of NAICS
SIC system heavily criticized
– Inability to keep pace with changing domestic
and international economies, particularly in
services
1991 International Conference on the
Classification of Economic Activities
Joint effort with Mexico and Canada to
develop NAICS
Motivations for NAICS
Precise country comparisons of economic
and financial statistics among U.S., Canada,
and Mexico
Passage of North American Free Trade
Agreement (NAFTA) in 1994
NAICS vs. SIC
NAICS improves over SIC:
1. NAICS uses a production-oriented
2.
3.
4.
5.
conceptual framework
Increased comparability of statistical data
Greater flexibility and precision in capturing
new and emerging economic activities
More frequent reviews--every 5 years
More accurate treatment of auxiliary
establishments
NAICS and the International
Standard Industrial
Classification (ISIC) System
NAICS more closely aligned to ISIC than the
1987 SIC system
Both NAICS and ISIC emphasize
classification by production technology
Primary Differences between
NAICS and ISIC
NAICS separately identifies an information
sector
– Recognizes the similarities in production of various
types of information
– UN Statistical Commission is considering
incorporating this sector into next revision of ISIC
NAICS uses a single, production-based
framework in organizing industrial activities
whereas ISIC uses multiple criteria
BEA data submissions
to OECD
OECD utilizes ISIC, thereby requiring data
adjustments
Under SIC system:
– Data adjustments were made with little difficulty
– Eased by the use of an international concordance
– In some cases, conversion not perfect
Example: fishing
BEA is currently developing a concordance between
NAICS and ISIC
Implementation Schedule
Highly dependent upon implementation schedule
of source data
– Census Bureau
1997 Economic Census was first data converted to NAICS
Census annual surveys converted beginning in 1998
– Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS)
Employment and wage data converted beginning in 2001
Producer price indices converted in 2004
– Internal Revenue Service (IRS)
Data conversion beginning in 2000
Difficult 4-year transition period
BEA Release Schedule
on a NAICS basis
December 2002:
– 1997 Benchmark Input-Output Accounts
December 2003:
– Comprehensive Revision of the NIPA’s
Data beginning in 1998 for type of income,
employment, and hours by industry
2004:
– GDP estimates (value added) and regional
estimates (gross state product) by industry
Historical Time-Series
BEA intends to convert industry estimates from
SIC to NAICS for years prior to 1997 for GDP,
investment, capital stock
Complications
Limited availability of source data
Heavy reliance on concordances
Few direct one-to-one matches
– Matrix of 1997 conversion weights for receipts,
payroll, and employment available
– Conversion matrix likely to become inaccurate over
time due to fixed weights
– Applicability of conversion matrix to data items not
available in the matrix
Progress Made by
Other Agencies
Federal Reserve Board
– Converted indices of industrial production for manufacturing
back to 1972
Census Bureau
– Converted monthly and annual series for wholesale and retail
trade sales and inventories back to 1992
Bureau of Labor Statistics
– Converted monthly payroll, employment, and related series
for all detailed NAICS industries back to 1990
BEA will review these procedures for its conversion of
investment, capital stock, and GDP by industry
Other issues
Preparation of volume estimates
Ensuring consistency of converted industry
estimates to related series in the national
accounts, including GDP estimates
Appropriate level of industry detail in
converted series
User Feedback
Overall positive
– NAICS is a more accurate reflection of today’s
economy than SIC
Concerns
– Transition creates breaks in the data
– Future revisions to NAICS may lead to more
frequent disruptions in data flow and time series
Presentation of the NIPA’s
BEA actively participated in preparing
System of National Accounts (SNA) 1993
Since 1993 BEA has been moving towards
consistency with SNA
– Chain index
– Saving and capital formation
– Software
Changes for 2003
Comprehensive Revision
Most definitions of transactions (and
terminology) will conform with SNA.
Some differences between the NIPA’s and
SNA 1993 will remain:
– Sectoral definitions
Treatment of government enterprises
– Maintenance of non-SNA aggregates important
to U.S. users
7 NIPA Summary Accounts
1.
2.
3.
4.
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6.
7.
Domestic income and product
Private enterprise income
Personal income and outlay
Government receipts and expenditures
Foreign transactions current
Domestic capital
Foreign transactions capital
Domestic Income and
Product Account
Shows GDP by final uses on the right side
of the account, while uses of income are on
the left
Left side based on generation of income
account
Differences from SNA:
– Private, government GFCF are separated
– Government GFCF is aggregated with
government final consumption
Private Enterprise
Income Account
Based on the SNA entrepreneurial income
account
Differs from SNA:
– Government enterprises are not included
– Payments of other current transfers are
classified as uses
– Dividends presentation differs from the SNA
Personal Income and
Outlay Account
Personal sector
– Consolidation of the household and nonprofit
institutions serving households
Represents consolidation of SNA’s :
– Allocation of primary income
– Secondary distribution of income
– Use of disposable income accounts
Differs from SNA:
– Pension accounting
– Disposable personal income accounting
Government Receipt
and Expenditures
Consolidates the SNA:
– Allocation of primary income
– Secondary distribution of income
– Use of disposable income accounts
General government enterprises are
consolidated with general government
Remaining NIPA
Summary Accounts
Foreign transactions current account
Domestic capital account
Foreign transactions capital account
Presentation is largely consistent with SNA
convention
BEA’s Commitment
Harmonizing its national accounts with the
international community
Continuing in the role of being an effective
resource for explaining the national
accounts
Guiding U.S. data users in the transition to
SNA 1993 concepts
Plans for improvement
Work with Federal Reserve Board to
integrate NIPA’s with flow of funds
accounts
Conference on Research in Income and
Wealth--Architecture of national accounts
– April, 2004, Washington DC
– See http://www.nber.org/CRIW/