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Eurostat Review on National Accounts and Macroeconomic Indicators ISSN 1977-978X 1/2014 EUROSTAT REVIEW ON NATIONAL ACCOUNTS AND MACROECONOMIC INDICATORS 1/2014 EUROSTAT REVIEW ON NATIONAL ACCOUNTS AND MACROECONOMIC INDICATORS Europe Direct is a service to help you find answers to your questions about the European Union Freephone number (*): 00 800 6 7 8 9 10 11 (*) The information given is free, as are most calls (though some operators, phone boxes or hotels may charge you). More information on the European Union is available on the Internet (http://europa.eu). Cataloguing data can be found at the end of this publication. Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union, 2014 ISBN 978-92-79-36350-4 ISSN 1977-978X doi: 10.2785/52209 Cat. No: KS-GP-13-001-EN-N Theme: Economy and finance Collection: Statistical books © European Union, 2014 Reproduction is authorised provided the source is acknowledged. Contents Foreword .................................................................................................................... 5 Aims and scope ........................................................................................................ 6 Editors .......................................................................................................................... 6 Editorial board .......................................................................................................... 6 Editorial ....................................................................................................................... 7 1. National Accounting at the beginning of the 21st century: Wherefrom? Whereto? André Vanoli .......................................................................................................... 9 2. Measuring social welfare in the National Accounts Dale W. Jorgenson, Daniel T. Slesnick ............................................................ 39 3. Intangibles and services in economic accounts T. Peter Hill .............................................................................................................. 59 4. The treatment of financial transactions in the SNA: A user cost approach W. Erwin Diewert .................................................................................................. 73 EURONA — Eurostat Review on National Accounts and Macroeconomic Indicators 3 Foreword Eurostat plays a central role in providing statistical information on the EU, the euro area and European countries. Indeed, it has a privileged position as a unique resource for the dialogue between researchers and producers of official statistics and it is a point of reference for the communities of data users such as international organisations, Statistical Institutes, Central Banks, analysts and policy-makers. Eurostat has also the capacity to draw empirical, theoretical and policy articles within the scope of National Ac- counts and macroeconomic indicators, dealing both with users’ and producers’ interests, presenting sub- jects of general relevance, of comparative nature, as well as specific country-related or thematic topics. For these reasons, Eurostat is launching with this publication EURONA, the EUrostat Review On National Accounts and macroeconomic indicators. EURONA is an open access, peer-reviewed, scholarly journal on methodology, techniques, standards, methods and practices on National Accounts and macroeconomic indicators. EURONA proposes a new approach to scientific journals in these thematic areas. This is primarily because the target readership consists of a high proportion of practitioners, not only researchers. Yet the integrity and success of the EURONA depends on its scientific rigor, but a vital part of its realisation depend on its relevance and how useful reading EURONA is for the community of official statistics. Hence, the articles proposed respond to the needs, challenges and issues that users and producers of official statistics related to National Accounts and macroeconomic indicators encounter. EURONA is also intended to fill a gap in the expanding fields of National Accounts and macroeconomic indicators, by adopting a scientific approach. It is a journal that reviews and explores all aspects related to new theoretical and experimental findings in statistics, econometrics, economics and any closely related fields. EURONA is therefore a refereed international journal to be of use to all those concerned with re- search in various fields of, or closely related to, statistics and economics discipline. EURONA can bring a distinctive (European) perspective to tackle with hitting issues, listening to the op- positional voices and bringing in best practices and innovative perspectives from research and work at national and international level, which in fact promotes sustainable statistical information empowerment. The choice of National Accounts and macroeconomic indicators is, in some sense, natural due to the fact that they are central in providing economic information to the public, but they are also critical data for supporting decision-making of policy-makers and investors, in addition of being at the basis of most mac- roeconomic exercises made by analysts. The creation of a specific review on National Accounts and mac- roeconomic indicators brings to the attention of a large and diverse audience first rate research activities and findings by academics, but also case studies and reflective articles by practitioners. EURONA creates a concrete opportunity to identify, present and discuss both practical and theoretical aspects as well as prac- tices that have an impact on the meaning and understanding of National Accounts and macroeconomic indicators in a globalised economy. Walter Radermacher Director-General, Eurostat EURONA — Eurostat Review on National Accounts and Macroeconomic Indicators 5 EURONA Aims and scope EURONA is an Open Access, peer-reviewed, scholarly journal dedicated to • Methodologies, techniques and tools related to National Accounts and Macroeconomic indicators; and their use in supporting economic decisions; • Standards, methods and practices used for the production of National Accounts statistics and Macroeconomic indicators; • Analytical methods and results in subject fields making use of National Accounts data and Macroeconomic indicators. EURONA aims to bring a distinctive perspective to tackle with different National Accounts related issues, also listening to oppositional voices and bringing in best practices and innovative perspectives from research and work at national and international level, in order to promote sustainable statistical information empowerment. EURONA’s core objective is to provide a platform for the researchers, scholars, producers and users of statistics and other practitioners to come together and share their research findings, thereby facilitating progress and enhancement of National Accounts and Macroeconomic indicators. EURONA is non-partisan and applies the highest standards to its content - specifically, it emphasises research integrity; high ethical standards; constructive peer-review; validity of the findings; and cutting edge results. The articles published in EURONA do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the European Commission or Eurostat. Editors Jukka Jalava (1), Eurostat Domenico Sartore (2), Ca’Foscari University, Venice Editorial board Roberto Barcellan, Eurostat Albert Braakmann, Statistisches Bundesamt Gerard Eding, Centraal Bureau voor de Statistiek Rosmundur Gudnason, Statistics Iceland Mick Lucey, Ireland Sanjiv Mahajan, Office for National Statistics Gabriel Quiros, European Central Bank Philippe Stauffer, Federal Statistical Office Annette Thomsen, Statistics Denmark Peter van de Ven, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (1) [email protected] (2) [email protected] 6 EURONA — Eurostat Review on National Accounts and Macroeconomic Indicators Editorial EURONA is a new concept in the panorama of scientific journals. Scientific papers are the primary mode of communication in the scientific communities. The National Accounts and Macroeconomic indicators community is an evolving group of experts, practitioners, producers and users of statistics whose inter- ests evolves at quick pace. Therefore, being ‘up-to-date’ on the latest developments in National Accounts and Macroeconomic indicators is paramount to ensure the capability of translating the economic soci- etal phenomena in statistics. EURONA aims at providing a range of opportunities for communication on research according to a modern way of sharing knowledge. EURONA is research, review, case stud- ies, tools, processes and methods translated into articles for the National Accounts and Macroeconom- ic indicators community and interested newcomers — under a strict policy of scholarship publishing. EURONA applies the scientific rigour of a scientific journal: highest standards to its content - specifically, it places an emphasis on research integrity; high ethical standards; constructive peer-review; validity of the findings; and cutting edge results. Articles are peer reviewed and key messages are highlighted for potential readers. EURONA aims at providing highly readable and valuable insights to the statistical research work in National Accounts and Macroeconomic indicators and it aims to become an indispensable reference in this field. EURONA’s intent is to bring together, in a virtual forum, academicians, producers, users, practitioners of Macroeconomic (official) statistics. The ultimate EURONA’s target is ‘good quality statistical information for informed decisions’.
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