1.5 Uses of the national accounts

The national accounts, based as they are on hard facts, provide sound statistical information that is useful in most situations of economic decision-making.

National accounts information has particularly important uses in economic policy formulation, where key considerations include

how is output divided between consumption and investment?

how dependent is the national economy on foreign trade?

how does output break down between different industries?

to what extent and in what ways do different decision-making sectors create savings for capital growth?

how has the structure of output changed over the years?

National accounts information is also used for purposes of analysing the structure of the national economy. Interests here include:

value added and employment by industry and region

breakdown of income by sector

imports and exports by product groups

consumption expenditure by product groups

gross fixed capital formation and fixed capital assets

composition of financial assets, reserves and flows by type of instrument and by sector

The national accounts also provide a tool for monitoring the development of the national economy over time. The time perspective is particularly interesting in

analysing the rate of GDP growth

analysing the rate of inflation

analysing seasonal variations in household expenditure by means of quarterly accounting

analysing the changing significance of different types of funding instruments

comparing industry structures in the national economy in the longer term

Furthermore, national accounts information can be used to analyse individual components or aspects of the national economy. Examples include

banking and finance

the role of general government

regional economies (as compared to the national economy as a whole)

Examples

1.1

1.2