BUSINESS ACCOUNTS Chapter 7

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

BUSINESS ACCOUNTS Chapter 7 Chapter 7 BUSINESS ACCOUNTS 1. The relationship between the firm (enterprise) and the corporation 2. The structure of corporate-sector accounts 3. From corporations to firms 7 BUSINESS ACCOUNTS CHAPTER 7 Business Accounts OECD economists are particularly interested in the institutional framework in which enterprises (firms) operate, in order to identify how to improve firms’ performance and generate an increase in employment, among other benefits. In recent OECD reports on France, for example, the authors have suggested a certain number of structural reforms intended to improve the performance of French firms. For example: ● ease the employment regulations that hinder layoffs and discriminate against small innovative units that need to be able to adjust their scale and the composition of their workforce; ● further deregulate the markets for goods and services, which remain highly regulated in France and hamper competition. The OECD economists cite the example of retail distribution, where the legislation was initially designed to prevent the large firms from wiping out the small ones, but it has on the contrary discouraged new entrants and handed over domination to a few large firms; ● improve the efficiency of the public sector, in other words general government and firms controlled by general government, which remains very large in France and partly explains the high rate of corporate tax compared with other OECD countries, acting as a brake on direct investment by foreign firms in France; and ● complete the establishment of a competitive market for network industries. Under pressure from Europe, France has liberalised its transport and telecommunications networks, but has not yet fully done so for energy. In the national accounts, firms are classified into two sub-sectors: corporations and “unincorporated enterprises” (or “individual entrepreneurs”). Individual entrepreneurs are firms, usually small in size, that do not have corporate status or do not have complete sets of accounts. They are themselves grouped with households, and in many cases the national accounts, unfortunately, do not identify them separately. The fact that they are grouped with households means that economic analysis often has to be confined to corporations, despite the fact that unincorporated enterprises also make a significant contribution to total value added. Table 1 shows the importance in terms of value added of the different institutional sectors in certain OECD countries. As can be seen from these few examples, it is the corporate sector that is the largest contributor to value added, far ahead of general government. But it can also be seen that value added for households is substantial, with much of this stemming from the imputation of output (imputed rents) for owner-occupied housing. However, a further appreciable 182 UNDERSTANDING NATIONAL ACCOUNTS – ISBN 92-64-02566-9 – © OECD 2006 BUSINESS ACCOUNTS 7 Table 1. Breakdown of gross value added by sector As a percentage of total gross value added, 2003 France Greece Netherlands Switzerland S11-S12 Corporations 60.7 32.1 70.0 71.7 S13 General government 18.0 13.7 14.0 11.5 S14-S15 Households* 21.2 54.2 15.9 16.8 S1 Total economy 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 * Including unincorporated enterprises and NPISHs. Source: OECD (2006), National Accounts of OECD Countries: Volume II, Detailed Tables, 1993-2004, 2006 Edition, OECD, Paris. StatLink: http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/667355442012 portion is in the form of value added of unincorporated enterprises. In particular, the fact that in Greece household value added accounts for more than 50% of total value added can be explained by the very large number of firms that do not have corporate status and are thus grouped with households in the national accounts. As for the corporations themselves, the national accounts break them down into two main sub-categories: non-financial corporations (S11) and financial corporations (S12). Financial corporations (banks, insurance companies) play a key role in the economy, but their accounts are not as easy to analyse as those of non-financial corporations, and it is for this reason that the national accounts show them separately. The definition of financial corporations can be found in Chapter 10. Table 2 shows that, in France, 56% of the total value added came from non-financial corporations in 2003. This table also shows that 9.2% of gross value added was accounted for by unincorporated enterprises, a larger figure even than that for financial corporations. Table 2. France: breakdown of gross value added by sector As a percentage of total gross value added, 2003 S11 Non-financial corporations 56.1 S14A Unincorporated enterprises 9.2 S12 Financial corporations 4.7 S13 General government 18.0 S14B “Pure” households 10.9 S15 NPISHs 1.2 S1 Domestic economy 100.0 Source: OECD (2006), National Accounts of OECD Countries: Volume II, Detailed Tables, 1993-2004, 2006 Edition, OECD, Paris. StatLink: http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/371418181211 UNDERSTANDING NATIONAL ACCOUNTS – ISBN 92-64-02566-9 – © OECD 2006 183 BUSINESS ACCOUNTS 7 1. The relationship between the firm (enterprise) and the corporation Decision-makers have always paid great attention to the small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Some SMEs are not corporations as legally defined, and they are therefore not classified in the corporate sector but as unincorporated enterprises. These small units play a very important role in agriculture and the liberal professions and sometimes as “start-ups” in industry (after all, Microsoft® began life as an unincorporated enterprise). However, their contribution to total value added remains limited by the fact that as they expand, small firms tend to be transformed into corporations. It is therefore the corporate sector, particularly non-financial corporations, that provides the backbone of economic growth in most developed countries. This chapter will look first at the accounts of non-financial corporations and then return to the accounts of unincorporated enterprises. 1. The relationship between the firm (enterprise) and the corporation For the national accounts, an enterprise is an institutional unit, in other words an economic agent having independent economic decision-making power, whose aim is to produce market goods and services. The word “market” is very important; it means that the products are sold on the market at economically significant prices. One of the criteria used by national accountants to determine whether a firm sells its products at an economically significant price is to see whether the value of its sales is equivalent on a lasting basis to more than 50% of its production costs. This definition therefore excludes, for example, general government units that provide products free, or almost free. Although it is far from being based on “profit-seeking” (if a firm’s sales cover only 51% of its costs, it will have to be heavily subsidised to continue to exist), this definition nevertheless implies that the behaviour of the firm as viewed by the national accounts is not based on altruism, in contrast to general government and NPISHs. A corporation is a form of enterprise having a legal identity separate from that of its owners. This separation gives the owners the important advantage that in the event of failure of the business their responsibility toward those to whom the firm owes money is limited to the amounts they have invested in the business and does not extend to their personal assets (except in the case of an offence such as embezzlement, but that is another story). In the case of unincorporated enterprises, there is no legal distinction between the firm and its owners, and the latter are personally responsible for all debts in the event of business failure. In order to become a corporation, a firm has to submit to a certain number of legal conditions, some of them costly, and this explains why owners of very small firms do not apply for these advantages. One of the major legal requirements for corporations is the publication of a complete set of accounts recording the value of the financial and non-financial wealth at the start of the period (one talks of an “opening balance sheet”) and at the end of the period (“closing balance sheet”), as well as the receipts and payments made between these two dates. 184 UNDERSTANDING NATIONAL ACCOUNTS – ISBN 92-64-02566-9 – © OECD 2006 BUSINESS ACCOUNTS 2. The structure of corporate-sector accounts 7 The period is generally one year and often corresponds to the calendar year. These accounts are the source enabling national accountants to calculate the macroeconomic accounts of the corporate sector. By contrast, most of the unincorporated enterprises do not have complete sets of accounts. Some of the transactions cannot be separated from those of their owners in their capacity as households. It is for this reason that the national accounts include them in the household sector. Two points to note: ● Certain non-financial corporations can be wholly or partially owned by the State (or other parts of general government). These are then known as public enterprises. Even so, they are not classified under general government, since they sell their products at prices close to their real costs. There is, however, a problem for analysts in that these firms can sometimes behave differently from private corporations. For example, certain public enterprises have a so-called public service function that often prevents them from charging their customers on the basis of actual marginal cost. Since some public enterprises do not therefore carry out their production according to quite the same rules as private corporations, the SNA recommends that national accountants draw up a special account in their case. In practice, however, very few OECD countries do so. ● In principle, the crucial distinction between corporations and unincorporated enterprises as far as the national accountants are concerned is not so much their legal status but as to whether or not they publish a complete set of accounts.
Recommended publications
  • Operating Surplus (Income from Property)
    Class No.9: Unit 1 (National Income and related aggregates) Objective: After the class/ content you will become familiar with the components of operating surplus (income from property) Operating surplus: It is an income generated from property (rent + interest) and income from entrepreneurship (profit). Royalty is included in rent. Alternatively, it is the sum of rent, interest and profit. We can also define ‘It is Net value added at FC (i.e. domestic income) minus Compensation of employees (traditionally called wages) and mixed income of self-employed.’ Factor income (NDPFc) Mixed income of self Compensation of employees Operating surplus employed Income from property Income from entrepreneurship Rent Royalty interest Profit dividend profit tax Undistributed profit (Note: Interest on National Debt is not the part of Interest from property and thus it is ignored) Components of operating surplus: (1) Income from Property: It is an income generated from the property in form of rent, interest and royalty. (i) Rent: It is any periodic payment to an owner or factor of production in excess of the costs needed to bring that factor into production. It also refers as ‘Economic surplus’ as it is received by landlord without any effort. (ii) Royalty: A royalty is a legally-binding payment made to an individual, for using his or her originally- created assets, including copyrighted works, franchises, and natural resources. For example, use of mineral deposit such as coal, oil etc. Royalty is also associated with musicians, who receive such payments whenever their originally-recorded songs are played on the radio or television, used in movies, performed at concerts, bars, and restaurants, or consumed via streaming services.
    [Show full text]
  • Modeling the Economic Surplus in a SAM
    Modeling the Economic Surplus in a SAM Framework Erik K. Olsen Dept. of Economics Univ. of Missouri Kansas City 5100 Rockhill Rd. Kansas City, MO 64110 [email protected] June 21, 2011 1 Introduction The concept of an economic surplus is something that Marxian and Sra¢ an economics share in common. Both theories recognize the importance of an eco- nomic surplus that is produced and subsequently utilized for various purposes, but they each de…ne this surplus in very di¤erent ways. The surplus of Sra¢ an theory is the net product of the economy as de…ned in conventional national accounts. The surplus in Marxian theory is de…ned through its class theory. Draft prepared for 2011 Association for Heterodox Economics conference, Nottingham Trent University. 1 From the Marxist perspective the surplus created by production provides the resources that support the array of nonproduction activities associated with the capitalist enterprise as well as for many activities and individuals that may be quite distant. Shareholders of a corporation, for example, receive an in- come derived from the surplus created in production, but this is simply one of many potential uses. Identifying the connection between the surplus created in production and the subsequent recipients is the task of Marxian class theory, and this provides a means to understand how the surplus created in production plays a role in the reproduction of the economic system itself. This emphasis on a complex class structure that is part of the fabric of the economy is what distinguishes Marxian class theory from the Sra¢ an one, and it is also what distinguishes their two di¤erent theories of surplus.
    [Show full text]
  • 17 National Accounts and Economic Statistics STD/NAES(2005)
    For Official Use STD/NAES(2005)17 Organisation de Coopération et de Développement Economiques Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development 29-Sep-2005 ___________________________________________________________________________________________ English - Or. English STATISTICS DIRECTORATE For Official Use STD/NAES(2005)17 National Accounts and Economic Statistics COST OF CAPITAL SERVICES AND THE NATIONAL ACCOUNTS UPDATE OF THE 1993 SNA - ISSUE No. 15 ISSUES PAPER FOR THE JULY 2005 AEG MEETING This paper has been prepared by Paul Schreyer, W. Erwin Diewert and Anne Harrison WORKING PARTY ON NATIONAL STATISTICS To be held on 11 - 14 October 2005 Tour Europe - Paris La Défense Beginning at 9:30 a.m. on the first day English - Or. English JT00190606 Document complet disponible sur OLIS dans son format d'origine Complete document available on OLIS in its original format STD/NAES(2005)17 COST OF CAPITAL SERVICES AND THE NATIONAL ACCOUNTS SNA/M1.05/04 UPDATE OF THE 1993 SNA - ISSUE No. 15 ISSUES PAPER FOR THE JULY 2005 AEG MEETING Paul Schreyer W. Erwin Diewert Anne Harrison EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Background 1. The topic of capital services has been discussed in various Canberra II Group meetings, including those of October 2003, April 2004, September 2004 and April 2005. It has also been discussed in meetings in Eurostat, at the OECD national accounts meeting and at the AEG meeting in December 2004. At its latest meeting in April 2005, the Canberra II Group supported the recommendations in the paper by Schreyer, Diewert and Harrison (2005) with some minor modifications. 2. The main messages to emerge from all of the meetings listed above is clear; few countries at present have a sufficiently detailed capital stock database to present robust capital service figures and even of those which do, not all are yet ready to publish these data as part of the main national accounts.
    [Show full text]
  • For Official Use STD/NA(99)54
    For Official Use STD/NA(99)54 Organisation de Coopération et de Développement Economiques OLIS : 01-Sep-1999 Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development Dist. : 02-Sep-1999 __________________________________________________________________________________________ Or. Eng. STATISTICS DIRECTORATE For Official Use STD/NA(99)54 National Accounts REVISION DUTCH NATIONAL ACCOUNTS; FIRST RESULTS AND BACKGROUNDS Agenda item 13 Statistics Netherlands OECD MEETING OF NATIONAL ACCOUNTS EXPERTS Château de la Muette, Paris 21-24 September 1999 Beginning at 9:30 a.m. on the first day Or. Eng. 80957 Document complet disponible sur OLIS dans son format d'origine Complete document available on OLIS in its original format STD/NA(99)54 REVISION DUTCH NATIONAL ACCOUNTS; FIRST RESULTS AND BACKGROUNDS Gert Buiten, Jacqueline van den Hof and Peter van de Ven Summary and introduction As in many other countries, the national accounts of The Netherlands have been revised, in accordance with the new worldwide System of National Accounts (SNA) 1993, and its European equivalent, the European System of National and Regional Accounts (ESA) 1995. As a consequence, the new national accounts data give a better picture of a number of recent developments, like the expanding importance of services, automation, information and knowledge. In addition, new statistical insights and results have been incorporated. The revision has implications for the macro-economic description and for a number of policy indicators. For the year 1995, Gross Domestic Product (GDP) has been adjusted upwards by 26.4 billion guilders, an increase of 4.1%. The upward adjustment is largely caused by the implementation of the new international guidelines. The net national income (NNI) has increased less (1.1%), since a large part of the changes concerns an upward adjustment of consumption of fixed capital.
    [Show full text]
  • Surplus-Value and Aggregate Concentration in the Uk Economy, 1987-2009
    DISCUSSION PAPERS IN ECONOMICS No. 2010/10 ISSN 1478-9396 SURPLUS-VALUE AND AGGREGATE CONCENTRATION IN THE UK ECONOMY, 1987-2009 VITOR LEONE and BRUCE PHILP December 2010 1 DISCUSSION PAPERS IN ECONOMICS The economic research undertaken at Nottingham Trent University covers various fields of economics. But, a large part of it was grouped into two categories, Applied Economics and Policy and Political Economy . This paper is part of the new series, Discussion Papers in Economics . Earlier papers in all series can be found at: http://www.ntu.ac.uk/research/academic_schools/nbs/w orking_papers/index.html Enquiries concerning this or any of our other Discussion Papers should be addressed to the Editorial team: Dr. Simeon Coleman, Email: [email protected] Dr. Marie Stack, Email: [email protected] Dr. Dan Wheatley, Email: [email protected] Division of Economics Nottingham Trent University Burton Street, Nottingham, NG1 4BU UNITED KINGDOM 2 SURPLUS -VALUE AND AGGREGATE CONCENTRATION IN THE UK ECONOMY , 1987-2009 Vitor Leone Bruce Philp 1 Abstract This paper examines the movements in the Marxian surplus-value rate using a Quantitative Marxist methodology. It examines the relationship between surplus-value and the degree of monopoly power in the UK economy using quarterly data and a proxy for aggregate concentration — the ratio of market capitalisation in FTSE100 firms to market capitalisation in FTSE All Share firms. Two other forces are considered: (i) the size of the “reserve army” of the unemployed; (ii) working class militancy. Our results suggest that increases in the “reserve army” influence the surplus-value rate positively, and that working class militancy is negatively related to changes in the surplus-value rate, indicating that strike action in this period is largely a defensive measure by workers.
    [Show full text]
  • Gross Domestic Product by State Estimation Methodology
    Gross Domestic Product by State Estimation Methodology U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE Penny Pritzker, Secretary BUREAU OF ECONOMIC ANALYSIS Brian C. Moyer, Director Sarahelen Thompson, Deputy Director 2017 www.bea.gov Acknowledgments U.S. Department of Commerce Penny Pritzker, Secretary Bureau of Economic Analysis Brian C. Moyer, Director Sarahelen Thompson, Deputy Director Joel D. Platt, Associate Director for Regional Economic Accounts, provided overall guidance for the preparation of this document. Ian Mead, Chief of the Regional Product Division, directed the preparation of this document. i Executive Summary HIS volume presents the conceptual framework, the data sources, and the statistical methodologies used T by the Regional Product Division of the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) to estimate gross domestic product (GDP) by industry for all U.S. states for 1963–2016. GDP by state is the state equivalent of GDP for the nation. In theory, the measurement of GDP for the nation is equal to gross domestic income (GDI). However, because GDP and GDI are measured using different source data, they usually are not equal. The difference between GDP and GDI is displayed in the National Income and Product Accounts (NIPAs) as the statistical discrepancy. GDP is measured as the expenditures of households on goods and services plus business investment, government expen­ ditures, and net exports. GDI is measured as the factor incomes earned (labor and capital income) and other costs incurred in production. GDP by state is measured as the factor incomes incurred in production, as is GDI. Although GDP by state is measured like GDI, the factor incomes are reconciled with GDP as the final step in the estimation process.
    [Show full text]
  • PALGRAVE: a Dictionary of Economics (Editor with Murray Milgate and Peter Newman)
    Also by Philip Arestls THE POLITICAL ECONOMY OP ECONOMIC POLICIES (co-editor with Malcolm Sawyer) Issues in Finance and MONEY AND BANKING: Issues for the Twenty-Pirst Century (editur) MONEY, PRICING, DISTRIBUTION AND ECONOMIC INTEGRATION Industry RELEVANCE OF KEYNESIAN ECONOMIC POLICIES TODAY (co-editor with Malcolm Sawyer) WHAT GLOBAL ECONOMIC CRISIS? (co-editur with Michelle l1addeley and fohn McCombie) Essays in Honour of Ajit Singh POST-BUBBLE US ECONOMY: Implications for Financial Markets and the Economy (with Elias Karakitsos) FINANCIAL DEVELOPMENTS IN NATlONALAND INTERNATIONAL MARKETS (co-editor with Jesus Ferreiro and Felipe Serrano) Edited by ADVANCES IN MONETARY POLICY AND MACROECONOMICS (co-editor with Gennaro Zezza) Philip Arestis ASPECTS OF MODERN MONETARY AND MACROECONOMIC POLICIES (co-editor with Eckhard Hdn and Edwin Le Heron) and ON MONEY, METHOD AND KEYNES: Selected Essays by Victoria Chick (co-editor with Sheila Dow) John Eatwell IS THERE A NEW CONSENSUS IN MACROECONOMICS? (editor) POLITICAL ECONOMY OF BRAZIL (co-editor with Alfredo Saad-Filho) FINANCIAL LIBERALIZATION AND ECONOMIC PERFORMANCE IN EMERGING COUNTRIES (co-editor with Luiz Fernando de Paula) Also by fohn Eatwell AN INTRODUCTION TO MODERN ECONOMICS (with Joan Robinson) WHATEVER HAPPENED TO BRITAIN? KEYNES'S ECONOMICS AND THE THEORY OF VALUE AND DISTRIBUTION (editor with Murray Milgate) THE NEW PALGRAVE: A Dictionary of Economics (editor with Murray Milgate and Peter Newman) THE WORLD OF ECONOMICS (editor with Murray Mi/gate and Peter Newman) THE NEW PALGRAVE
    [Show full text]
  • The Input-Output Table and Integrated Economic Accounts
    Chapter 10 THE INPUT-OUTPUT TABLE AND INTEGRATED ECONOMIC ACCOUNTS 1. The supply-and-use tables (SUTs) 2. The aggregate supply and final uses tables 3. Intermediate use table (IUT) 4. The input-output table 5. The use of the input-output table for economic analysis 6. From the sum of the values added to GDP 7. The integrated economic account (IEA) 8. The transition from GDP to national income THE INPUT-OUTPUT TABLE AND INTEGRATED 10 ECONOMIC ACCOUNTS CHAPTER 10 The Input-output Table and Integrated Economic Accounts According to Edmond Malinvaud, one of the most distinguished contemporary French economists, the national accounts are “the presentation, in a rigorous accounting framework, of all the quantitative information relating to the nation’s economic activity”.* Here, the importance of the words “rigorous accounting framework” must be stressed. In fact, any macroeconomist carries in his head a simplified model of the economy in which everything made by someone is used by someone else, anything exported by someone is imported by someone else, anything saved by someone is invested by someone else, and so on. However, basic statistics are not presented in a “rigorous accounting framework”. They never precisely tie in together. For example, for a given product, the figures for total output are not going to correspond to the figures for total use. The reason for this is simply that output statistics are compiled differently from those of use: the statistical questionnaires are not addressed to the same people; the classifications are different; statisticians apply different methods; and so on. Some people have even ironically formulated a “theorem” that states if two statisticians are given the same set of data, the aggregate results they provide will necessarily be different! For these reasons, macroeconomists appreciate that national accounts constitute one of the rare cases in which statisticians provide tables that are (almost) completely consistent.
    [Show full text]
  • Tendency of the Rate of Profit to Fall
    Tendency of the rate of profit to fall en.wikipedia.org /wiki/Tendency_of_the_rate_of_profit_to_fall The tendency of the rate of profit to fall (TRPF) is a hypothesis in economics and political economy, most famously expounded by Karl Marx in chapter 13 of Capital, Volume III.[1] Although not accepted in 20th century mainstream economics, the existence of such a tendency was widely noted throughout the 19th century.[2] Economists as diverse as Adam Smith,[3] John Stuart Mill,[4] David Ricardo[5] and Stanley Jevons[6] referred explicitly to the TRPF as an empirical phenomenon that needed to be explained. They differed in the reasons they gave for why the TRPF might necessarily occur.[7] In his 1857 Grundrisse manuscript, Karl Marx called the tendency of the rate of profit to fall "the most important law of political economy" and sought to give a causal explanation for it, in terms of his theory of capital accumulation.[8] The tendency is already foreshadowed in chapter 25 of Capital, Volume I (on the "general law of capital accumulation"), but in Part 3 of the draft manuscript of Marx's Capital, Volume III, edited posthumously for publication by Friedrich Engels, an extensive analysis is provided of the tendency. [9] Marx regarded the TRPF as proof that capitalist production could not be an everlasting form of production, since, in the end, the profit principle itself would suffer a breakdown.[10] However, because Marx never published any finished manuscript on the TRPF himself, because the tendency is hard to prove or disprove theoretically, and because it is hard to test and measure the rate of profit, Marx's TRPF theory has been a topic of controversy for more than a century.
    [Show full text]
  • Gross Domestic Product (GDP)
    CHAPTER 8 GROSS DOMESTC PRODUCT(GDP)-AN OVERVIEW 8.1 Domestic product is an indicator of overall generated through the production activity is production activity. GDP is a measure of distributed between the two factors of production. The level of production is production, namely, labour and capital, important because it largely determines how which receive respectively the salaries and much a country can afford to consume and it the operating surplus/mixed income of self also affects the level of employment. The employed. Thus the income approach GDP consumption of goods and services, both is the sum of compensation of employees, individually and collectively, is one of the gross operating surplus and gross mixed most important factors influencing the income plus taxes net of subsidies on welfare of a community. The concept of production. In the National Accounts GDP in the 1993 SNA framework has been Statistics of India, the production approach briefly discussed in the following paragraphs. GDP is considered firmer estimate; and the NAS presents the discrepancy with the expenditure approach GDP explicitly. 8.2 It should be noted, however, that GDP is not intended to measure the production taking Production approach GDP place within the geographical boundary of 8.3 GDP is a concept of value added. It is the the economic territory. Some of the sum of gross value added of all resident production of a resident producer may take producer units (institutional sectors, or place abroad, while some of the production industries) plus that part (possibly the total) taking place within the geographical of taxes, less subsidies, on products which is boundary of the economy may be carried out not included in the valuation of output.
    [Show full text]
  • 27 National Accounts STD/NA(2002)
    For Official Use STD/NA(2002)27 Organisation de Coopération et de Développement Economiques Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development ___________________________________________________________________________________________ English - Or. English STATISTICS DIRECTORATE For Official Use STD/NA(2002)27 National Accounts SOURCES OF DATA FOR INTERNATIONAL COMPARISONS OF COMPANY PROFITABILITY (METHODOLOGY) Paper prepared by Richard Walton - Bank of England (United Kingdom) OECD MEETING OF NATIONAL ACCOUNTS EXPERTS Château de la Muette, Paris 8-11 October 2002 Beginning at 9:30 a.m. on the first day [email protected] E nglish - Or. English Document complet disponible sur OLIS dans son format d'origine Complete document available on OLIS in its original format STD/NA(2002)27 SOURCES OF DATA FOR INTERNATIONAL COMPARISONS OF COMPANY PROFITABILITY (METHODOLOGY) 1. The rates of return to be presented in the article, International comparisons of company profitability (UK Economic Trends, 15 October 2002) are ratios of the operating surpluses of non-financial companies compared with capital employed, expressed as percentages. Tables 1.4, 1.5 and 1.6 provide data on international comparisons of all companies, manufacturing and services companies. Data for 2000 an 2001 will be released on 15 October. The rate of return can be calculated in many ways1, but this is considered the most important measure of profitability because it expresses the return on invested capital. The net rate of return uses capital estimates which are net of capital consumption and is more widely used than the gross rate of return. The sources of data are national accounts in most countries. In a few countries, financial indicators of business activity have been used which draw on data from balance sheets and the profit and loss accounts of surveys of enterprises.
    [Show full text]
  • An Introduction to the National Income and Product Accounts
    An Introduction to the National Income and Product Accounts Methodology Papers: U.S. National Income and Product Accounts U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE Carlos M. Gutierrez Secretary ECONOMICS AND STATISTICS ADMINISTRATION Cynthia A. Glassman Under Secretary for Economic Affairs BUREAU OF ECONOMIC ANALYSIS J. Steven Landefeld Director Rosemary D. Marcuss Deputy Director September 2007 www.bea.gov Acknowledgments Part I, “Overview of the NIPAs,” was prepared by Stephanie H. McCulla, an Economist in the National Income and Wealth Division at the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA). Part II, “Underlying Economic Accounts”; Part III, “Economic Accounts for Sectors”; and Part IV, “NIPA Summary Accounts”; were prepared by Charles Ian Mead, an Economist in the Office of the Director at BEA. Brent R. Moulton, Associate Director for National Economic Accounts at BEA, provided overall supervision for the preparation of this project. Preface This paper provides a comprehensive explanation of the conceptual basis and framework of the U.S. national income and product accounts (NIPAs). It describes the structure and purpose of the U.S. economic accounts, discusses the relationship between business and financial accounting and national economic accounting, and presents a derivation of the seven NIPA summary accounts from generalized production, income and outlay, and capital accounts for each sector of the economy. This paper updates and replaces “An Introduction to National Economic Accounting” (MP1), which was published in March 1985. Comments about this paper are invited. Please contact the BEA National Economic Accounts Directorate, 1441 L St. NW, BE–6, Washington, DC 20230 or by e-mail at <[email protected]>.
    [Show full text]