The national accounts is commonly known by its key-aggregates (e.g. GDP and saving) and their role in public debate and decision-making. However, the national accounts plays many different roles for many different uses. This paper provides an overview of the development of these roles and uses...

In this paper, the four successive guidelines of the United Nations on national accounting are discussed in view of economic theory (Keynesian analysis, welfare, Hicksian income, input-output analysis, etc.) and data compilation issues (e.g. the link with concepts in administrative data...

An overview is provided of the history, logic, merits and limitations of the national accounts. Past In the second half of the seventeenth century the first estimates of national income were made. These estimates served clear purposes, like demonstrating that a revision of the English tax system...

This paper discusses the future of the national accounts in view of four trends: globalisation, regionalisation like the European unification (regional blocks), atuomation and more market-oriented government. Each trend will be discussed starting from recent developments in national accounting....

This paper describes the relationship between economic theory and national accounting. This relationship is often misunderstood, by economic theorists and national accountants alike. Attention is drawn to the consistency required in a national accounting system, to national accounts statistics...

The official national accounts statistics do not show the role of human capital in the national economy. A set of satellite tables supplementing the standard national accounts statistics could serve this data need. In this satellite account, expenditure on education and training are recorded as...

This paper describes the history of the national accounts starting from the incidental estimates by Petty, King and Davenant in the seventeenth century. The period 1930-1950 was a revolution in terms of the roles and uses of the national accounts, e.g. the discovery of input-output analysis,...

In some countries - the Netherlands, UK and USA - the expected economic implications of election platforms of political parties are evaluated by independent economic institutions prior to the election. This paper analyzes the merits and limitations of this process, taking 25 years of Dutch...

Without national accounts statistics, citizens, politicians, entrepreneurs and economists would be blind for the size, composition and development of national economies. This book provides a unique overview of the merits and limitations of the national accounts. Attention is paid to the three...

This paper presents a modified national accounting system tailored to a description of Research and Development (R&D)in the national economy. The main differences with the standard national accounts are some changes in the basic concepts (e.g. own-account production of R&D is considered as...