NIPA

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NIPA Flow of Funds Accounts Integration

• BEA Government Statistics Users Conference

Charlotte Anne Bond Special Studies
Branch September 14, 2006
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Introduction

• International standards call for these integrated
  accounts
• In the U.S., the Bureau of Economic Analysis
  (BEA) produces income and capital accounts
  National Income and Product Accounts (NIPAs)
• The Federal Reserve Board (FRB) produces
  financial accounts Flow of Funds Accounts (FFAs)
• BEA and FRB are currently working to integrate
  the accounts to create a balance sheet that meets
  international guidelines

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Background

• The NIPAs show nonfinancial accounts and the FFAs
  feature financial accounts together they provide
  a comprehensive picture of the government sector.
• While the concepts in both accounts are the same,
  differing data sources and estimation methods
  employed cause the results to differ

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Usefulness of Integration(illustration)
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Thrust of this Project

• Improve the quality and usefulness
• Ensure consistent boundaries
• Identify more data sources
• Increase communication while preparing estimates

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Flow of Funds Tables

• Efforts to improve statistical consistency in the
  government accounts
• FFA Tables F.105 (State and Local Government) and
  F.106 (Federal Government)
• The focus of my example is on the Federal
  accounts however, similar concerns exist for the
  State and Local accounts

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F.106 Federal Government Lines 1-21Billions of
dollars
Federal Reserve Flow of Funds Accounts Z.1
Release June 8, 2006
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F.106 Federal Government Lines 22-52Billions of
dollars
Federal Reserve Flow of Funds Accounts Z.1
Release June 8, 2006
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Statistical Discrepancy
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What has been Accomplished

• Teplin et al., Integrated Macroeconomic Accounts
  for the United States Draft SNA-USA(2005)
  documents the past efforts in this project and
  lays out the future direction
• Estimates are prepared for the draft SNA-USA
  structure for the period 1985 2002
• Prospects are clear for improving the integration
  of the FFAs with the NIPAs and for bringing them
  closer into alignment with international
  standards
• Progress on this project is described in a
  forthcoming article in the Survey of Current
  Business
• Starting in late September, the two agencies will
  begin a regular, annual publication of the
  integrated estimates

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FCC Spectrum Auctions

• Efforts are underway to develop estimates for the
  electromagnetic spectrum
• Estimates are needed for the Federal non-produced
  non-financial assets and for corporate sector
  balance sheets
• A priority is to measure correctly receipts from
  spectrum auctions

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Where We Go from Here

• Improve estimates of changes in balance sheets
  that arise from sources other than transactions
• Continue to investigate data sources and methods
  or concepts for real estate values in some
  sectors
• Reconcile remaining differences between the
  current and accumulation accounts and the
  international transactions accounts
• Improve alignment of U.S estimates with
  international standards

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Questions

• How important a problem is the quarterly
  volatility in the NIPA - FFA discrepancy?
• Is it more important, in this project, to address
  statistical problems first, and then methods and
  concepts or vice versa?