Understanding National Accounts

The OECD is one of the five organizations that are directly involved in defining the System of National Accounts, by which such aggregates as GDP or GNI are calculated at the world level. In easily understood language, the authors of this book—current and former heads of national accounts at the OECD—explain GDP and GNI, what their components are, what they mean, and how they are used. Opening with a chapter showing how national accounts concepts relate to macroeconomics, the books goes on to systematically deal with volume and prices, international comparability, production, final uses, household accounts, business accounts, government accounts, and financial accounts. It also has a chapter on how national accounts data are gathered and the history of the national accounts system. Three special chapters examine national accounts in China, India, and the United States. Supplementary materials are available online at www.SourceOECD.org/ understandingnationalaccounts.