System of National Accounts 2008

System of National Accounts 2008
Name	System of National Accounts 2008
Country	International
Language	English
Subject	National accounting, statistics
Publisher	United Nations, European Commission, International Monetary Fund, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, World Bank
Pub date	2009

System of National Accounts 2008 is a comprehensive international standard for compiling national accounts published jointly by the United Nations, the European Commission, the International Monetary Fund, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, and the World Bank. It establishes concepts, definitions, classifications and accounting rules to ensure comparability of national economic statistics produced by national statistical offices such as the United States Census Bureau, Office for National Statistics (UK), Statistisches Bundesamt (Germany), Statistics Canada and Australian Bureau of Statistics. The framework is used by institutions like the International Labour Organization, Bank for International Settlements, Asian Development Bank, and central banks including the Federal Reserve System and the European Central Bank to support macroeconomic analysis, fiscal policy, and international reporting.

Overview and purpose

The SNA 2008 provides standardized guidance for compiling aggregates such as gross domestic product, national income, and capital formation, aligning methodological practice among bodies like the United Nations Statistical Commission, G20, World Trade Organization, and regional agencies including the African Development Bank and Inter-American Development Bank. It defines units such as institutional units and sectors used by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and the International Monetary Fund in balance of payments and fiscal statistics, ensuring interoperability with frameworks from the International Financial Reporting Standards Foundation and the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision. The manual supports statistical capacity building in countries covered by the United Nations Development Programme and the International Monetary Fund’s Data Standards Initiatives.

Historical development and revisions

SNA 2008 is the successor to earlier international manuals including the 1953 SNA, the 1968 revision, and the widely used System of National Accounts 1993; its development involved experts from institutions such as the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, the OECD Directorate for Employment, Labour and Social Affairs, and the World Bank Group. Key milestones include technical meetings held at venues like the United Nations Headquarters (New York), consultations with national agencies including INSEE and Instituto Nacional de Estadística (Spain), and interim guidance from the Intersecretariat Working Group on National Accounts. The revision process drew on debates from forums such as the International Statistical Institute congresses and inputs from scholars affiliated with universities like London School of Economics, Harvard University, and University of California, Berkeley.

Key concepts and accounting framework

SNA 2008 codifies accrual accounting for production, income distribution, consumption, and capital formation across institutional sectors including households, nonfinancial corporations, financial corporations, general government, and non-profit institutions serving households—categories used by the International Monetary Fund and Eurostat. It specifies valuation rules (market prices, basic prices), the concept of economic territory, and the recording of transactions and other flows in integrated accounts similar to frameworks used by the World Bank and Bank for International Settlements. The manual addresses sectoral balance sheets, supply and use tables, input-output frameworks employed by research centers like the National Bureau of Economic Research, and the treatment of assets and liabilities consistent with standards from the International Accounting Standards Board.

Implementation and international adoption

Adoption of SNA 2008 has been promoted through capacity-building programs by the United Nations Statistics Division, technical assistance missions from the International Monetary Fund, and regional implementation projects coordinated by agencies like Eurostat and the Asian Development Bank. National statistical offices including Statistics New Zealand, Statistics Sweden, and Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística have undertaken rebasing and reclassification exercises to align time series with SNA 2008 guidance, often coordinating with ministries of finance, central banks such as the Bank of England, and international donors like the International Finance Corporation. The SNA 2008 also interfaces with the Balance of Payments and International Investment Position Manual (BPM6) maintained by the International Monetary Fund and supports reporting to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development.

Methodological changes from SNA 1993

Major methodological changes introduced in SNA 2008 relative to the 1993 edition include revised treatment of research and development as capital formation, new guidance on treating intellectual property products, expanded coverage of financial instruments influenced by work at the Bank for International Settlements, and clearer rules for recording pension entitlements and leases reflecting debates involving the International Accounting Standards Board and the Financial Stability Board. The revision also refined the recording of output for non-market producers, treatment of holding gains and losses on balance sheets, and introduced enhanced guidance for environmental accounting and natural resource depletion, linking to initiatives by the Convention on Biological Diversity and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

Criticisms and controversies

Critiques of SNA 2008 have emerged from academics and policy analysts at institutions like the London School of Economics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and think tanks such as the Brookings Institution and the Cato Institute, focusing on valuation of intangible assets, measurement of household production, and the macroeconomic implications of capitalization choices for research and development. NGOs and advocacy groups including Oxfam and Transparency International have debated the implications for measuring welfare and distribution, while central banking authorities and financial regulators have questioned the impact on fiscal indicators and sovereign debt metrics used by the International Monetary Fund and credit rating agencies like Moody's Investors Service and Standard & Poor's.

Impact on economic statistics and policy

SNA 2008 has influenced national accounts data series used by institutions such as the World Bank for the World Development Indicators, the International Monetary Fund for surveillance and Fiscal Monitor reports, and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development for comparative productivity and growth studies. Its guidance affects fiscal policy analysis in ministries including HM Treasury (United Kingdom), budget classifications used by Government of France, and monetary policy frameworks employed by central banks like the Reserve Bank of India and the Bank of Japan. The adoption of SNA 2008 has also shaped international research outputs from organizations such as the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development and the International Labour Organization regarding labor accounts, productivity, and sustainable development indicators.

Category:Economics Category:Statistical manuals