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March 1992

March 1992 SURVEY OF CURRENT BUSINESS

Sir Richard Stone and the Development of National Economic Accounts

SIR RICHARD STONE WAS A FOUNDER of national income account- pean Economic Cooperation to design A Standardized System of ing. He was awarded the 1984 in Economic Sciences , published in 1952. "for having made fundamental contributions to the development Though generally satisfied with the 1953 SNA, Stone regretted of systems of national accounts." His death in December 1991 what he considered its limited scope. Much of his subsequent came as the United Nations was revising its System of National work concentrated on expansions of the system. His 1954 article Accounts (SNA), the development of which is largely attributable "Input-Output and the Social Accounts" supported the future to him, and as the United States was embarking on the path of inclusion of input-output analysis and extended the development modernizing and extending its national accounts along the lines of the "social accounting matrix" or "transactions matrix." To of the revised SNA. improve comparability, he conducted studies emphasizing the Stone began his work in national accounting when he and compatibility of complete systems of price and volume indexes prepared an annex on the national income and in a national accounting framework. He explored less tradi- expenditure of Britain to accompany ' tional areas by applying classifications corresponding to those in 1941 "White Paper" on British war finance. The presentation the national accounts to demographic and population data and was a landmark because it applied the double-entry bookkeep- developing an input-output model of the education system. ing method to national accounts. When applied to sectors of Stone's goal, the extension of national accounting, was fulfilled the economy, this method shows how sectors are related to in 1968, when the SNA underwent its first substantial revision. each other and to the economy as a whole. Stone and Meade Stone again served as chairman of the Expert Group, and un- suggested accounts for four sectors: Household, business, gov- der his influence the revised SNA included input-output analysis, ernment, and the rest of the world. The application was timely flow-of-funds accounts, and national and sector balance sheets. because it offered a method of presenting detailed informa- It also outlined his "social accounting matrix," which had been tion about increasingly complex economies at a time when the widely recognized by that time. Stone continued publishing ar- growing interest in and counter-cyclical poli- ticles on national accounts well into the i98o's. In a 1986 article, cies intensified the need for such knowledge. By illustrating that "Social Accounting: The State of Play," he appraised the position the expenditures of one sector show up as income elsewhere, the of social accounts and considered possible future developments, method also offered a way to cross-check the estimates. including improved linkage of social and demographic statistics That this method, introduced at the time as the "social to . accounting approach," ultimately received widespread accep- The development of national accounting techniques was not tance is a testament to Stone's qualifications as a theoretician, Stone's only interest. He investigated methods of anal- bureaucrat, and statesman. Stone published many articles ex- ysis, the practical applications of these methods, and more plaining and expanding the approach and was well aware that its extensive economic models. His 1954 study of private consump- acceptance depended on its potential for practical applications. tion in England, one of the most extensive econometric studies International comparability of estimates was also a major con- ever conducted, offered econometric insights into saving behav- cern of his. As early as 1944, while at the ior. Much of Stone's attention during the 1960*8 was given to Central Statistical Office, he participated in discussions with rep- directing a University project intended to reveal the resentatives from the United States and Canada to try to reach prospects for more rapid growth of the British economy by de- agreement on national accounting principles and presentation. veloping more extensive models for economic policy. It tied in It was during these meetings that Stone and George Jaszi, former well with his development of national accounts and intensified director of BE A, developed a lasting friendship. his interest in demographic accounting. Stone's long career included, in addition to the consultancies Meanwhile, Stone served as chairman of the League of Nations and chairmanships mentioned earlier, the following: A position Sub-Committee on National Income Statistics of the Committee in the U.K. Office of War Cabinet, Central Statistical Office, of Statistical Experts. He guided the Committee to a compre- 1940-44; Director, Applied Department, University hensive presentation of the social accounting approach in 1947. of Cambridge, 1945-55; Director, Organisation for European Stone's memorandum to the Sub-Committee, "Definition and Economic Cooperation, National Accounts Research Unit, 1945- Measurement of the National Income and Related Totals," was 51; P.D. Leake Professor of Financial Accounting, University an appendix to the committee's presentation but in fact made of Cambridge, 1955-80; and Professor Emeritus, University of up the bulk of the report. Many countries quickly adopted Cambridge, 1980-91. Stone's approach, establishing a common basis for statistical Between 1936 and 1989, Stone authored 205 papers and pub- comparisons between countries. lications (a complete list is available in Econometric Theory, vol. The 1947 report was the predecessor of the first edition of the 7, 1991). The following bibliography, arranged chronologically, United Nations System of National Accounts, published in 1953. has been selected to trace his interest in national accounting. Stone served as chairman of the Expert Group convened to de- velop the SNA and simultaneously directed a similar effort in the With James E. Meade. Annex to John M. Keynes, Analysis of the National Accounts Research Unit of the Organisation for Euro- Sources of War Finance and Estimate of the National Income

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28 • March 1992 SURVEY OF CURRENT BUSINESS

and Expenditure in 1938 and 1940. Cd. 6261. : H.M. "Input-output and the Social Accounts." In The Structural In- Stationery Office, 1941. terdependence of the Economy. New York: Wiley and Sons, With James E. Meade. "The Construction of Tables of Na- Inc., 1955. tional Income, Expenditure, Savings and Investment." The Quantity and Price Indexes in National Accounts. Paris: Economic Journal 51 (1941): 216-31. (Reprinted in Read- Organisation for European Economic Cooperation, 1956. ings in the Concepts and Measurement of Income. Edited by "Social Accounting and Standardised National Accounts." De- R.H. Parker and G.C. Harcourt. Cambridge: Cambridge partment of , , University Press, 1969.) 1964. "Definition and Measurement of the National Income and Re- "Demographic Input-Output: An Extension of Social Account- lated Totals." Appendix to Measurement of National Income ing." In Contributions to Input-Output Analysis^ vol. i. and Construction of Social Accounts. Geneva: United Amsterdam: North-Holland, 1970. Nations, 1947. "Where Are We Now? A Short Account of the Development "Functions and Criteria of a System of Social Accounting." In of Input-output Studies and Their Present Trends." In Income and Wealth* series I, Cambridge, England: Bowes Proceedings of the Seventh International Conference on Input- and Bowes, 1951. output Techniques. United Nations Industrial Development With D.A. Bowe, et al. The Measurement of Consumers' Expend- Organization. New York: United Nations, 1984. iture and Behavior in the United Kingdom, 1920-1938, vol. i. "Social Accounting: The State of Play." The Scandinavian Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1954. Journal of Economics 88 (1986): 453-72.

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