Transcript 3.2 - United Nations Statistics Division

The 2008 SNA research and
implementation programme
14 December 2011
Herman Smith
National Accounts Section
United Nations Statistics Division
Outline of presentation
 Changes from the 1993 SNA
 2008 SNA research issues
 2008 SNA implementation
2
Changes from 1993 SNA
Annex 3 of 2008 SNA (pages 581-602)
grouped changes as:
1. Further specifications of statistical units and revisions in
institutional sectoring
2. Further specifications of scope of transactions including
the production boundary
3. Extension and further specification of concept of assets,
capital formation and consumption of fixed capital (CFC)
4. Further refinement of treatment and definition of financial
instruments and assets
5. Further specifications of the scope of transactions
concerning government and public sector
6. Harmonization between concepts and classifications of
SNA and BPM6
3
2008 SNA Changes affecting GDP
4
Capitalization of
R&D
 The activity of R&D is
no longer treated as
ancillary
 Expenditure on R&D is
treated as capital
formation (except
those made available
free)
Impacts
 Move R&D from
intermediate consumption
to gross capital
formation. This changes
GDP by the same
amount.
 Require adding
consumption of R&D fixed
capital stock to nonmarket output: increase
GDP
5
Impacts
 Valuation of market
producers only
 Not applicable to
non-market
producers like
government and
NPISH
 Output valued by cost
increases by an
imputed value of
return to capital (Need
total stock of assets
for the calculation of
return to capital)
 GDP increases by the
same amount of
imputed value
6
Military Expenditure
 Fixed assets
(Transports and
weapons delivery
systems, intercontinental
missiles, etc.)
Impacts
 Change in
inventories
(bullets, bombs,
etc.)
 Require adding
consumption of military
fixed capital stock to
government output:
increase GDP
 Move expenditure on
military equipments
from final consumption
to gross capital
formation: This does
not change GDP
7
Measurement
Impacts
 Measurement relies only
on interest receivable on
loans and interest
payable on deposits,
ignoring all other
investment incomes
 Depending on the
structure of financial
instruments, output of
FISIM could increase
 For example, loans made
from own funds will
increase FISIM
 Money lenders output
recognized
 FISIM allocated to final
demand and exports will
increase GDP
 Loans made from own
funds are also treated as
generating output
 FISIM to be allocated
between users
8
Imputation
Impacts
 There is a cost to
administering pension
schemes, including
non-autonomous and
unfunded ones
 Change household
consumption
 Change GDP
 Output to be
determined using sum
of costs, consumed by
employees holding the
pension entitlements
9
Treatment of ESOs
Treatment of employee stock
options as compensation of
employees (in kind)
 It is equal to the difference
between the market price and
strike price at the vesting date
(only when positive)
 It should be spread between
the grant date and the vesting
date
 Treatment has been approved
by International Accounting
Standards (IAS) and the US
Financial Accounting Standards
Board (FASB)
Impacts
 Increase compensation
of employees of
corporations
 Reduce operating
surplus of corporations
 Do not change GDP but
change household
income
10
2008 SNA Research agenda
11
• Annex 4 of 2008 SNA
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
Basic accounting rules:
Financial instruments and non-financial assets:
The concept of income
• ISWGNA website
(http://unstats.un.org/unsd/nationalaccount/research.asp)
• Reflects current issues under discussion and new
items and recommendations
•
How to prioritise research topic?
• Urgency and importance in ensuring
relevance of SNA to users?
• Consequences of change and difficulty of
implementation?
• Completely new? Preparation already done?
•
Selection of topic
• Widespread consultation
• Inclusion of compilers and users
•
•
•
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•
Coordination
Auspices of ISWGNA
In consultation with the AEG
Task forces/expert groups
Worldwide representation in deliberations
Update procedure

Emission Permits under Cap and Trade Schemes
◦
◦

The treatment of FISIM
◦
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◦
◦

Difference in the time when the permit is issued and
when it is surrendered
Difference in the initial value and market value
Risk management
Liquidity transformation
Consistency of FISIM in international trade
Implications for price and volume measures
Globalisation issues
◦
◦
Goods for processing and merchanting
Global production
2008 SNA
implementation programme
16
Implementation programme


UNSC in Feb 2010 supported the
implementation programme and encouraged
countries to develop their own programmes
of implementation
The Implementation Programme for the
2008 SNA and supporting statistics
represents a global statistical initiative
Objective of the Global Statistical Initiative
To assist countries in developing the
statistical and institutional capacity to:
(a) Make the conceptual change over from
the 1993 SNA to the 2008 SNA
(b) Improve the scope, detail and quality
of the national accounts and
supporting economic statistics.
Principles of the global initiative
The efficiency and sustainability of the
initiative rest on the agreed principles of the
implementation strategy:
(a) strategic planning
(b) coordination, monitoring and
reporting
(c) improving statistical systems
Elements to operationalise the initiative
(a) Use National Strategies for the Development of
Statistics (NSDS) as the strategic planning framework
(b) The programme information structure taking
account of the statistical production process, and the
scope and compliance for the national accounts and
supporting economic statistics
(c) The modalities of statistical capacity building
include training and technical cooperation, publication
of manuals and handbooks, research and advocacy
(d) The stages of implementation leading to the change
over to the 2008 SNA.
Why a strategic approach?
 To align the 2008 SNA country programme with
national policy priorities and regional
requirements
 Consultative process is system wide
 Resources are limited
 Piece meal approach is not cost effective
 Donor coordination is critical
The programme information structure
To facilitate the coordination, monitoring and
reporting on the SNA implementation in the multistakeholder environment.


Frameworks
 Minimum Required Data Set (MRDS) based on
UN-NAQ
 IMF GDDS and SDDS
Report on the
 statistical process
 data quality
Statistical capacity building
 UNSD and other members of the ISWGNA initiated
dialogue with the regional commissions and other
development partners to consider programmes for
four modalities
(a) training and technical cooperation,
(b) manuals and handbooks,
(c) applied research and
d) advocacy.
 The initial focus on these four modalities will be
applied flexibly
Implementation stages
 Three stages
 Review of strategic framework and detailing of national and
regional implementation programmes
 Adaptation of classification frameworks, business registers
and frames, surveys, administrative data sources and
information technology infrastructure
 Application of adapted frameworks and source data,
backcasting and changeover to 2008 SNA
 Each country will determine the duration of the
various stages. However, it is expected that from
2014 onwards, many Member States will change
over to the 2008 SNA
Regional and national implementation
programmes

UNSD conduct series of seminars jointly with RC and
countries in the respective regions
 To align regional and global implementation
programmes
 To provide countries with tools to develop national
implementation programmes for the 2008 SNA and
supporting statistics
Thank You