Comparability
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National Accounts, Climate and Environment, Economic StatisticsOliver Nygaard Sørensen
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The quarterly national accounts follow international guidelines (ESA 2010, implemented in 2014) and are comparable across countries. They cover all parts of the economy, and most economic statistics have their counterpart here. However, caution is advised when comparing with other statistics due to differences in definitions and coverage. The national accounts are fully consistent with the balance of payments and general government.
Comparability - geographical
The UN has prepared a manual for the preparation of the national accounts, the System of National Accounts (SNA), which the EU has prepared a European interpretation of (European System of Accounts (ESA)). The current SNA2008 manual is followed by most countries in the world, while the corresponding ESA2010 manual is followed by all European countries. Therefore, national accounts figures are internationally comparable to a high degree.
Comparability over time
A fundamental principle in the compilation of national accounts statistics is that the figures should be as comparable over time as possible. This means, for example, that new sources must always be adapted to the concepts of the national accounts, and that reclassifications of existing sources cannot immediately be interpreted as changes to the variables and concepts in the national accounts statistics.
Coherence - cross domain
The industry classification used in the quarterly national accounts is based on the Danish Industrial Classification 2007 (DB07), which is the Danish version of the international nomenclatures EU’s NACE Rev. 2 and the UN’s ISIC Rev. 4. DB07 operates with several standard groupings: 10, 19, 36, and 127 groups.
In the quarterly national accounts, the aggregation level 10a3 is used, which corresponds, with a few deviations, to the 10-group standard in DB07. The 10a3-grouping contains 13 groups, whereas the 10-group standard contains 10. The difference is due to two cases of subdivision in the 10a3-grouping: manufacturing, mining and quarrying, and utility services are divided into three separate industries instead of being combined into one. In addition, real estate activities are divided into two industries: real estate activities and renting of non-residential buildings, and dwellings.
Furthermore, there is full consistency between the quarterly national accounts and the statistics for the balance of payments as well as general government expenditure and income. Quarterly national accounts are also connected to a number of other statistics, including accounting statistics, agricultural statistics, consumer survey, etc. However, there may be discrepancies for several reasons:
- Variable definitions may differ.
- Differences in the calendar year delimitation, which is always the actual year in the quarterly national accounts.
- The national accounts must cover all economic activities, including illegal activities.
- Errors in the primary statistics found during the preparation and reconciliation of the national accounts are not always corrected in the primary statistics.
Coherence - internal
There is by definition full internal consistency in the quarterly national accounts. The internal consistency includes both the functional and the institutional national accounts.