Data,Linkages and Models: US National Income and Product Accounts in the Framework of a Social Accounting Matrix

In policy analysis, there is a continuing tension and interplay between issues, models and data. Issues and models have changed in recent years, and there is a need for evolution in the underlying economy-wide economic data base. We discuss accounting frameworks for integrating micro-survey data with macro-data from the national economic accounts. We take a modeler's perspective, arguing that new accounts are needed to support policy modeling. We discuss in detail the use of a social accounting matrix (SAM). A SAM provides a data framework which reflects an actor/transaction view of the economy and supports disaggregated economy-wide modeling. We discuss the relationship between a SAM and the existing national economic accounts for the USA, including the national income and product accounts and the input–output accounts.     

Measuring Commodities' Commodity Content

Within the standard linear framework, a methodology, formally similar to the labour theory of value, is proposed to compute the direct and indirect commodity contents of any produced good. The proposal is then compared with the more familiar social accounting matrix (SAM) accounting procedure, using an appropriate partitioning of the SAM accounts. Some numerical results are then obtained and compared using a recently compiled SAM for Catalonia. The empirical results show the practical feasibility of the proposed methodology.     

Estimation of an Extended SAM with household production for Spain 1995

This paper implements the conceptual framework sketched by Pyatt (1990) to construct an extended Social Accounting Matrix for Spain in 1995 (ESAM-95) to consider, in addition to the market economy, the production of services provided by households through unpaid work. In doing so, the ESAM-95 integrates the accounts related to market activities (ESA accounts) with non-market activities (non-ESA accounts) in a consistent way. Additional classifications are introduced in both ESA and non-ESA accounts in order to disaggregate the institutional accounts by household type and those of production factors by educational level and gender. The extended SAM is useful to calibrate CGE models in which the distribution of time between paid and unpaid work is a relevant variable.     

The SAM and Beyond: Open,SESAME!

The revised 1993 System of National Accounts (SNA) contains a chapter on social accounting matrices (SAMs), demonstrating that the input-output approach should be extended to a matrix presentation of a wider set of national accounts. This article describes the application of that chapter to the case of Indonesia, and elaborates on the linkage of a SAM to all kinds of supplementary (non-monetary) data sets. This should yield a system of economic and social account-ing matrices and extensions (SESAME), i.e. a consistent meso-level information system from which major economic and social macro-indicators can be derived. By way of example, detailed employment figures that belong to a SESAME for Indonesia are presented.     

Regionalizing National Commodity-by-Industry Accounts

Exended input–output (IO) models are increasingly prominent in regional economic analysis. Social accounting matrices and associated multiplier decompositions, IO econometric model hybrids and computable general equilibrium models are finding greater acceptance in contexts in which simple IO models once dominated. Although the extended regional models build primarily on the foundation of regional, interindustry accounting frameworks, the data from which these regional accounts are drawn are most commonly in the form of a national commodity-by-industry account. Despite this longstanding fact, the IO table adaptation literature has focused almost solely on methods of adapting national interindustry accounts to regional economies. This paper presents a method designed specifically to regionalize commodity-by-industry accounts, in the context of the US reporting system. The focus on commodity-by-industry data demands a confrontation with several important issues that otherwise might go unattended. Using a particular system and its accompanying classification scheme ensures a comprehensive and consistent regionalization method.     

A SAM for Europe: Problems and Perspectives

This paper examines the conceptual and practical problems of constructing a social accounting matrix for Europe. It involves integrating the accounts of member countries within a complete system of regional accounts. The standard matrix framework first proposed by Stone is modified in two respects. First, functional and geographical transactions are distinguished between in order to simplify the accounting structure. Secondly, supraregional accounts are more formally incorporated so as to include accounts for the rest of the world and EC institutions, as well as to accommodate distribution and other transaction costs involved in moving goods, factors and assets between member countries. The general system of regional accounts can then be aggregated, consolidated or apportioned across member states but this has implications for both harmonizing accounts and classifications and considering the extent to which there is truly a ‘single European market’. Finally, the paper considers the availability of data and presents a preliminary compilation of aggregate accounts for three member countries.     

中国能源结构低碳化转型的政策分析

本文构建了中国能源-经济社会核算矩阵,使用SAM账户乘数分析方法探讨可再生能源电力产业在经济结构中的特征,部门扩张对其他经济部门的影响.同时利用SAM价格乘数研究不同的能源价格政策对经济系统的影响,结果表明政府采用对煤炭收取碳税的同时,对可再生能源电力产业进行补贴的价格政策是有效的.可再生能源电力产业的发展对经济结构的优化和能源结构低碳化转型有着积极作用,并能够降低成本推动型通货膨胀的发生风险.     

Extending the SAM with Social and Environmental Indicators: An Application to Bolivia

Extending economic accounts with sets of social and environmental indicators is a first step towards a more integrated analysis of aspects of sustainability problems. In this article, therefore, a proposal is made to nest social and environmental indicators into an existing economic accounting framework. The Social Accounting Matrix (SAM) is taken as a basis, because of its flexibility regarding extensions with non-monetary data addressing social and environmental concerns. The main thrust of the paper is methodological. From the discussion of methodological issues and the application to the SAM for Bolivia for the year 1989, it is concluded that it is, in principle, feasible and relatively simple to extend the SAM with the two sets of indicators. However, additional data will have to be collected to be able to address, more adequately, the problems of sustainability.     

CONVERGENCE BETWEEN THE EORA,WIOD, EXIOBASE,AND OPENEU'S CONSUMPTION-BASED CARBON ACCOUNTS

In this paper, we take an overview of several of the biggest independently constructed global multi-regional input–output (MRIO) databases and ask how reliable and consonant these databases are. The key question is whether MRIO accounts are robust enough for setting environmental policies. This paper compares the results of four global MRIOs: Eora, WIOD, EXIOBASE, and the GTAP-based OpenEU databases, and investigates how much each diverges from the multi-model mean. We also use Monte Carlo analysis to conduct sensitivity analysis of the robustness of each accounts’ results and we test to see how much variation in the environmental satellite account, rather than the economic structure itself, causes divergence in results. After harmonising the satellite account, we found that carbon footprint results for most major economies disagree by<10% between MRIOs. Confidence estimates are necessary if MRIO methods and consumption-based accounting are to be used in environmental policy-making at the national level.     

Some Relationships between T-Accounts,Input–Output Tables and Social Accounting Matrices

Some relationships between the T-accounting format for presenting commodity balances; input–output (IO) tables; and social accounting matrices are discussed in this paper. The starting point is to recognize that IO tables do not contain all the information that is needed to complete a social accounting matrix (SAM), or, therefore, for the modelling of phenomena that depend on having a fully articulated SAM, such as the interdependence of the distribution of income and the structure of production. There is a need, therefore, to establish the character of the extra information that is required and this can be achieved by imposing the requirement that a SAM should be consistent with the basic cash identity that is fundamental to all social accounting. A second agendum is to develop the argument that, while T-accounts can, in principle, provide a database equivalent to that of a SAM, in practice, they are typically found to be an imperfect substitute. It is important, therefore, in designing a database, to go beyond the confines of an (extended) IO system and T-accounts. SAMs provide an appropriate framework for doing so.     

Estimation of Non-Stationary Social Accounting Matrix Coefficients with Supply-Side Information

Given aggregated data, a framework for estimating the entries of a social accounting matrix (SAM), or any large matrix of expenditures, trade or income flows, is developed. Under this framework it is possible to evaluate the contribution of structural and supply-side information, as well as policy variables, within the generalized context of a non-stationary SAM. Inference and diagnostic properties are developed as well. This new estimator can be viewed as a generalized maximum likelihood estimator. Stationary and non-stationary estimates of the US SAM for the years 1987-1994 together with the effects of supply-side variables are analyzed.     

Assessing the efficiency of secondary schools: Evidence from OECD countries participating in PISA 2015

One of the most important issues accompanying the publication of the main results of the well-known Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) is the classification of countries according to student attainment. However, this ranking does not take into account some highly relevant factors, such as the different resource endowments of each education system or the heterogeneous context in which schools operate. This study aims to provide a fuller picture of education system operation worldwide by assessing the managerial efficiency of secondary schools in a cross-country framework. To do this, we use data from OECD countries participating in PISA 2015 and apply a robust nonparametric approach that accounts for the fact that schools were operating under heterogeneous conditions before the efficiency measures of performance were estimated. Our results suggest that the consideration of both school resources and environmental factors significantly modifies the country ranking based solely on student results.     

我国对国民经济核算的贡献

国民经济核算是国民经济分析和政策的重要工具。改革开放以来,我国统计理论界的专家学者和实际工作部门的工作者从实际出发,理论联系实际,不断开拓创新,不仅推动了我国统计事业的不断发展,而且对国民经济核算理论与方法的发展做出了较大的贡献,主要包括四个方面:提出国民经济核算的平衡原则,消除了理论与方法上的误解;创立社会劳动价值论,奠定了我国国民经济核算体系的理论基础;提出国民大核算理论,明确了国民经济核算理论与方法的发展方向;整合MPS与SNA,丰富了国民经济核算的理论与方法     

IFRS Adoption and Accounting Quality: A Review

Abstract

In 2002, the European Union (EU) Parliament passed a regulation that requires consolidated and simple accounts for all companies listed in the EU to use International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) for fiscal years starting after 1 January 2005. This change in accounting systems will have a large impact on the information environment for EU companies. This paper provides a review of the literature on adoption of different Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP). We thus provide background and guidance for researchers studying the change in accounting quality following widespread IFRS adoption in the EU. We argue that cross-country differences in accounting quality are likely to remain following IFRS adoption because accounting quality is a function of the firm's overall institutional setting, including the legal and political system of the country in which the firm resides.     

社会核算矩阵平衡方法研究——最小二乘交叉熵法

针对初始不平衡SAM与真实SAM关系未知的情形,本文提出了最小二乘交叉熵(LSCE)平衡法。基于最小二乘法(LS)、交叉熵法(CE)以及LSCE方法的仿真分析表明,CE与LS的相对稳健性取决于初始不平衡SAM的误差特征:当初始不平衡SAM的交易流量更接近于真实SAM时,LS较优;当初始不平衡SAM的系数矩阵更接近于真实SAM时,CE较优。LSCE方法同时考虑了SAM表流量和系数矩阵信息,故可得到精度介于LS和CE间的平衡SAM表,从而保证了平衡后SAM表的相对精度。     

Spatial accounting methods and the construction of spatial social accounting matrices

The paper examines modifications to Regional Accounts used to construct regional and interregional Social Accounting Matrices (SAMs). It is argued that as the size of the basic areal unit used in studies declines, more traditional accounting approaches are no longer satisfactory. A three-dimensional spatial approach (termed two-by-two-by-two) to the identification of fundamental dimensions (commodity and factor market; geographical; and social accounts) has been developed in contrast to the more traditional non-spatial approach (termed two-by-two). This involves a novel approach using the geographical concepts of place of production for production activities, place of residence for institutions, marketplace for commodities and marketplace for factors. The use of these concepts permits accounting balances to be calculated at the spatial level. The theoretical basis of the spatial regional accounting model is presented and an example of the construction of a Danish Interregional SAM (SAM-K) is examined. Particular attention is given to data requirements, showing that these are much more modest than generally assumed.     

New Nonlinear Approaches for the Adjustment and Updating of a SAM

Many structural relationships should be taken into account in any reasonable adjustment and updating process. These structural relationships are mainly represented by ratios of different types, such as technical coefficients or the proportion of the cell value in relation to its row or column total. We believe that in many cases (either because of lack of information or when the time elapsed for the estimation of a social accounting matrix is not long enough to allow for any significant structural change) the updating process should try to minimize the rela- tive deviation of the new coefficients from the initial ones in a homogeneous way. This homogeneity would mean that the magnitude of this relative deviation is similar among the elements of each row or column, therefore avoiding the concentration of the changes in particular cells of the SAM. In this work, we propose some new adjustment criteria in order to obtain a more homogeneous relative adjustment of the structural coefficients. These criteria combine the adjustment method proposed by Matuszewski et al. (1964) with other deviation functions. Each of the adjustment criteria proposed leads to a nonlinear optimization problem which is reformulated as a linear program. We test the usefulness of this proposal by comparing its results with the ones obtained by more standard approaches and we are able to show that these approaches tend to produce a less homogeneous pattern of coefficient adjustment, under certain circumstances, than the ones we put forward.     

European Structural Indicators,A Way Forward

At the 2000 Lisbon summit, the European Union formulated the ambition to transform itself into "the most competitive and dynamic knowledge-based economy in the world capable of sustainable economic growth with more and better jobs and greater social cohesion'. It is remarkable that, until recently, European statisticians were hardly involved in the design of a statistical information system and related "structural' indicators for this important policy purpose. Instead, indicators have been designed that do not measure what they intend to measure, are based on incomparable data and give the impression of a fairly incoherent shopping list of numbers without an underlying vision on the use of these numbers in policy making. This paper argues that indicators can best be based on a coherent accounting system, such as the national accounts, and that the SESAME- system, which is an extension of national accounts and so-called Social Accounting Matrices, offers promising perspectives in this regard.