The use of benchmarking techniques in the compilation of the European quarterly national accounts : situation and perspectives

The methodology for the eurozone/EU estimate of quarterly national accounts aggregates is based on temporal disaggregation techniques. Eurostat regularly compiles quarterly national accounts following a benchmarking approach based on the traditional Chow and Lin technique complemented by a multivariate Denton balancing. Three releases of GDP and main components of the expenditure, output and income side as well as employment series are published each quarter at T+45, 60 and 105 days. This paper presents an overview of the methodology applied in compiling the European quarterly national aggregates, with a particular view on benchmarking and balancing issues. Attention is given to specific aspects of the European aggregates benchmarking: composition and quality of the indicators, impact of different size of the time series involved, effect of seasonal adjustment. Furthermore it analyses, from the benchmarking point of view, the possible effects of breaks generated by foreseen methodological changes and the impact of the introduction of the new approach to price and volume measures (chain-linking) on the benchmarking-based compilation of the European aggregates.