Design of Nonmarket Accounts for the United States: A CNSTAT Study Panel

• Activity Number: 343
• Type: Other
• Date/Time: Wednesday, August 6, 2003 : 10:30 AM to 12:20 PM
• Sponsor: ASA
• Author(s): Shelly VerPloeg*+ and Katharine G. Abraham
• Companies: and University of Maryland
• Keywords: National Income and Product Accounts ; Accounting ; Non-Market

Abstract

National income and product accounts are, for many countries, the most important measures of overall economic activity. Nevertheless, since their first construction for the United States by Simon Kuznets, concerns have been voiced that the accounts are incomplete and misleading because they omit nonmarket activities - unpaid and volunteer work, leisure pursuits, most investment in human capital, and many others - that affect the population's well-being. Moreover, data from the accounts can only provide a partial measure of the sources of growth in the economy. The CNSTAT Panel to Study the Design of Nonmarket Accounts was charged with evaluating current approaches, examining data requirements, determining priorities for areas of coverage, and suggesting further research to strengthen the knowledge base about nonmarket accounting. Key issues that the panel must address include (1) the question of scope for nonmarket accounts - where in the range of economic-related activities to draw the border of inclusion? (2) the measurement objective - specifically, should the primary intent of the accounts be to provide a measure of national output or of national welfare? (3) how best to value inputs and outputs, once identified, in the absence of market prices? The panel is also considering how the experimental nonmarket accounts might be designed to work as compatibly as possible with the current core accounts, the merits of which have been validated from a long history of use.