bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Qualitative and Quantitative Evaluation of Silicon Nitride Grain‐Boundary Phase by Cryogenic Specific Heat Measurements
Authors: Hamasaki Toyohiro , Ishizaki Kozo
Published: March 2005

Three types of Si3N4 have been hot isostatically pressed at 1700°C under 60 MPa for 1 h in a capsule. The quantity and quality (i.e., crystalline or glassy structure) of the grain‐boundary phase of the three types of Si3N4 can be evaluated by measuring cryogenic specific heats. The specific heats of Si3N4 ceramics with Al2O3 and Y2o3, additives have been measured at different temperatures between 10 and 40 K. The temperature dependency of measured cryogenic specific heat provides quantitative and qualitative information of the grain‐boundary phases. This method is very useful for evaluating small changes in the amount and crystalline structure of grain‐boundary phases and can clarify different heat histories of the sintering processes in Si3N4 ceramics. This proposed method is nondestructive, and the sensitivity can be extremely high. This method eventually leads to a new quality control method of ceramics.
Benign symmetric lipomatosis (Launois–Bensaude syndrome)
Authors: Fernández‐Vozmediano José , Armario‐Hita José
Published: March 2005

A 37‐year‐old woman with a personal history of appendicectomy, cholecystectomy, left oophorectomy secondary to an ovarian cyst complication, nephritic colic with repeated episodes of pyelonephritis, alcoholic hepatopathy, Raynaud's phenomenon and bilateral exophthalmos showed an increase in volume in the root of the upper limbs and in the base of the neck over a period of 4 years, painful to the touch and of a soft consistency. She presented with a pseudo‐athletic appearance (Fig. 1) produced by an increase in the volume at the root of the upper limbs, upper back and the back of the neck (Fig. 2). The lesions produced a pulling sensation and were associated with paresthesia, hyperesthesia, and a moderate loss of strength in both arms. A biopsy taken from the upper third of the right arm showed a diffuse proliferation of the subcutaneous adipose tissue, which appeared normal, and extended between the collagen fibers, reaching in some cases into the most superficial zones of the reticular dermis (Fig. 3). Laboratory evaluation revealed a chronic anemia, leukopenia with moderate lymphopenia, increased erythrocyte sedimentation rate, elevation of enzymes of hepatic function, decrease in total proteins, and increase in ferritin, all in the context of hepatopathy. Antinuclear antibodies and the hormonal profile were normal. Abdominal and gynecologic echography revealed a right ovarian cyst of no clinical relevance. Cranial nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) revealed an increase in the periorbital fat responsible for bilateral exophthalmos.

Pseudo‐athletic appearance produced by the increase in volume at the root of the upper limbs

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Increased volume in the upper back and the back of the neck

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Diffuse proliferation of subcutaneous cellular tissue, with normal and mature cellularity, infiltrating through the collagen fibers (Hematoxiline/Eosine ×100)

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Exploring the stereochemical requirements for protease inhibition by ureidopeptides
Authors: Barth B.S. , Myers A.C. , Lipton M.A.
Published: March 2005

Abstract:  A novel ‘ureidopeptide’ substrate analog inhibitor of the HIV‐1 protease, created by substitution of a urea for the scissile amide bond of a hexapeptide substrate, was synthesized and tested for inhibition of HIV‐1 protease. This inhibitor was designed as a stereochemical mutant of an earlier ureidopeptide inhibitor in which the P1′ phenylalanine residue was changed from an l‐isomer to a d‐isomer. This was done in an attempt to increase binding to the enzyme by compensating for a lengthening of the peptide backbone. The inhibitor was synthesized from two protected tripeptide precursors using an oxidative Hoffmann rearrangement of a C‐terminal peptide amide. The new inhibitor was found to inhibit HIV‐1 protease with an observed IC50 of 47 μm.
GROWTH OF SECTOR REAL PRODUCT*
Authors: Hill A. T. P. , McGibbon J.
Published: March 2005

This paper is concerned with the influence of different estimation procedures on the data for real output by industry group of a number of O.E.C.D. countries. The authors have examined the methods and indicators used in preparing sector real output data and have tried to assess the effect of the different methods on the recorded changes of sector real output. The data for real output, employment and productivity are compared for the different sectors and countries. The comparison between sectors lays particular emphasis on the dichotomy between the services and non‐service sectors of the economy. In this comparison as well as in inter‐country comparison it is seen that the data are influenced to a considerable extent by different methods. The survey of estimation methods also shows the incidence of use of double deflation techniques and other methods in the different countries, and the extent to which quality change, output specification and valuation problems are reflected in the different methods.
THE USES OF NATIONAL BALANCE SHEETS
Authors: Goldsmith R. W.
Published: March 2005

The now urgent problem in the field is to translate into practice the theoretical agreement, slowly reached over the past two decades, on the need for and feasibility of sectorized national balance sheets.

The paper discusses the five main uses of national balance sheets, viz. (1) the study of the relations among assets and liabilities at one point of time in one country, particularly the position of financial institutions; (2) the analysis of changes in one country's financial structure between several balance sheet dates; (3) the comparison of balance sheet structure at one date among two or more countries; (4) the comparison of the financial development of several countries for at least two but usually more numerous balance sheet dates; and (5) the use of selected balance sheet items, e.g., reproducible tangible assets or liquid financial assets, in econometric models.

Examples are presented of the first three uses, viz. for (1) an eleven sector balance sheet matrix for the U.S. as of the end of 1962; for (2) an unsectored national balance sheet of the U.S. in 1900, 1912, 1929, 1939, 1945 and 1958; and for (3) a comparison of condensed unsectored national balance sheets for a dozen countries (USA, UK, France, Germany, Belgium, Norway, Italy, Japan, Israel, Mexico, India and the USSR) for a date in the neighborhood of 1960.
EXPÉRIENCES PRATIQUES DANS ĽUTILISATION DU SCN POUR LA COOPÉRATION ÉCONOMIQUE INTERNATIONALE
Authors: Petre J.
Published: March 2005

Ľutilisation du SCN actuel pour les besoins de la coopération économique internationale est considérée ci‐après à la lumière des expériences accumulées au sein de la Communauté Economique Européenne.

Ľexpérience des années récentes prouve que si, dans une première étape, le SCN a pu servir de cadre général ďanalyse économique, ce cadre s'est rapidement révélé insuffisant lorsqu'il s'est agi de confronter des structures et des politiques nationales ou de définir des politiques coordonnées dans les domaines économique, social ou financier. Les travaux menés dans différents domaines ont montré la nécessitéďétendre, de détailler, de modifier et de préciser le système actuel de comptabilité nationale.

Une question importante concerne ľintérêt de faire apparaître ou ďéliminer du système comptable les différences institutionnelles existant entre pays. Bien qu'à cet égard ľavis des utilisateurs ne soit pas toujours unanime, ľexpérience plaide en faveur ďun système reflétant pleinement les différences réelles de structure entre pays, mais suffisamment détaillé afin de permettre les regroupements fonctionnels nécessaires à certaines analyses.

Ľarticle se termine par un bref rappel des principales critiques adressées au SCN actuel par ceux qui, dans le cadre de la Communauté Economique Européenne, se servent de la comptabilité nationale, critiques auxquelles la révision du SCN apportera, espérons‐le, une réponse satisfaisante.
THE USE OF COMPUTERS IN THE NATIONAL ACCOUNTS OF NORWAY
Authors: Schiøstz Thomas
Published: March 2005

Both the yearly and the quarterly national accounts of Norway are derived with intensive use of electronic computers, punchcards and magnetic tapes.

The introduction of the paper gives a short description of the Norwegian national accounting system. Four aspects are stressed. First, the accounts are built up by the production approach with the main purpose of, on the one hand, showing the domestic product at market prices by industry of origin and, on the other hand, showing a detailed breakdown by categories of expenditure. Second, the main part of the system consists of an input/output matrix of about 1700 commodities, 130 industries, and 150 final demand sectors. The input/output table is thus not made separately but is the main body of the national accounts. Third, this annual input/output table is used as a basis for estimating quarterly accounts. Fourth, an econometric model for analysing and forecasting developed by the Norwegian Central Bureau of Statistics is closely linked to the national accounts.

The paper concentrates on how the computers and punchcards are used. It describes how all available information on the supply and use of commodities, prices, etc., is brought together. As far as possible punchcards from the basic statistics are taken over for further processing. As the end result each flow in the national accounts is represented by a punchcard.

The paper discusses what has been gained by switching from worksheets to punchcards. There are advantages during the work and there are advantages of having the final results on punchcards.

The final sections describe how the punched cards for the yearly accounts data are used as basis for preliminary estimates of quarterly accounts and also in a model for forecasting.
THE GROWTH OF THE INDIAN ECONOMY: 1860–1960
Authors: Saini Krishan G.
Published: March 2005

This paper is concerned with an examination of growth trends of the Indian economy between 1860 and 1960. This examination commences with the numerous studies bearing on the more recent part of this period, from about 1900 to 1960. These studies are shown to vary greatly in coverage and comprehensiveness, and their differences and individual shortcomings are assessed. Nevertheless, these studies conclude, without exception, that the Indian economy remained virtually stationary in this period, especially in terms of negligible growth in per capita real income. In contrast to periods since 1900, the study of economic growth during the earlier period has suffered academic neglect. There are only two major studies which make an attempt to examine economic trends in this period. Both these studies are found wanting with respect to concepts and procedures. The period from 1860 to 1913 presents serious problems in any study since there is a paucity of statistics which are at all reliable and useful. The most promising approach for overcoming this deficiency is to develop better sectoral statistics rather than to rely on aggregative data even when available. In order to gain a better understanding of the growth trends of the Indian economy over this period, the author constructed indices of major economic activities. These indices demonstrate that relatively high rate of economic growth prevailed in India before 1890. Subsequent developments in the Indian economy seem to consist of minor changes in the magnitudes of economic variables rather than fundamental structural changes. Thus, the Indian economy is shown to have enjoyed relatively high rates of growth only in the initial three decades of the hundred‐year period, 1860–1960.
INTERNATIONAL AVERAGE PRICES AND COMPARISONS OF NATIONAL AGGREGATE PRODUCTION OF AGRICULTURE
Authors: Kawakatsu Shohei
Published: March 2005

“The whole question of making inter‐spatial comparisons between countries is a most complicated and hazardous business” (Mr. Campion); international comparisons of a particular value aggregate between countries present a difficult problem connected with the conversion of national value aggregates into a comparable magnitude. This paper presents an alternative approach in that an internationally comparable value aggregate for each country is prepared by the international average prices of commodities which are determined simultaneously with the partial exchange rates of national currencies to a standard currency. The calculated partial exchange rates are so defined as to reflect the purchasing power of national currencies in respect of the group of commodities selected. Consequently, the resulting value aggregate for international comparison has a quantity dimension, eliminating the effect due to the different purchasing power of national currencies in which original prices are quoted. The other methods of international comparison so far being used by other research workers, such as C. Clerk and M. Gilbert and his associates, are examined in the light of the properties of the present method and the crucial differences are delineated. Using the method proposed, an international comparison is made of the aggregate value of agricultural products for 11 selected countries in the world, with sub‐divisions into two regions.
REGIONAL ECONOMIC ACCOUNTING IN THE U.S. OFFICE OF BUSINESS ECONOMICS–AN APPRAISAL*
Authors: Graham Robert E. , Romans J. Thomas
Published: March 2005

This paper discusses the conceptual framework in which regional economic accounts in the United States are viewed and the functions which those accounts serve. It points out that the major differences between regional and national accounts relate to factor returns to capital. First, returns to capital are extremely difficult, if not impossible, to measure meaningfully on a geographic basis. Secondly, because the capital market in the United States is a reasonably perfect one geographically, the return to capital that originates in a given region has little significance as either a stimulant or a constraint to production in that region.

In terms of the functions of regional accounts, the point is made that whereas national economic accounts can aid economic decision‐making in three general areas of policyallocation, distribution and stabilization—with perhaps greatest emphasis now placed on the last of these, regional accounts are most useful in matters relating to allocation and distribution.

Information needed for the use of regional accounts in decision‐making with regard to allocation and distribution problems is examined. Against these needs are placed an inventory of regional accounts which are available in the Regional Economics Division, Office of Business Economics. The available accounts are found to fall considerably short of those needed for allocation decisions. In contrast, regional accounts as presently constituted have much to offer as tools for analyzing the problems of regional economic distribution, although here too, much additional information is needed.
EDUCATED MANPOWER BEHIND NORWAY'S EXPORTS, DOMESTIC CONSUMPTION, AND INVESTMENT*
Authors: Thonstad Tore , Kobberstad Tor
Published: March 2005

This paper contains some of the main results of an investigation into the use of educated manpower in Norwegian industries. An input‐output model with labour inputs specified by education is presented. Per unit of final delivery, Norwegian exports in 1960 used relatively less labour, and less educated labour, but more capital (measured by depreciation) than the other categories of final demand. But when the use of labour is compared to the income created by the final deliveries, the differences are much smaller.
VALUE JUDGEMENTS IMPLIED BY THE USE OF VARIOUS MEASURES OF INCOME INEQUALITY*
Authors: Kondor Yaakov
Published: March 2005

If a welfare economist wants to express income inequality in a sensible way by a single parameter, he has to make rather strong assumptions regarding the social preferences of his fellow citizens. Formulas are presented with whose aid one is able to test whether or not these assumptions hold. The standard measures used nowadays contradict prevailing preferences. If no common single measure can be found which fits the social preferences of almost all individuals concerned tolerably well, additional parameters measuring poverty and riches separately are necessary.
THE MEASUREMENT OF REAL INCOME
Authors: Usher D.
Published: March 2005

This paper is about the theory of the measurement of real income. By “theory of measurement” I mean the characterization of statistical terms as variables in a model, just as real consumption is characterized as an indicator of utility and the consumer price index is characterized as the cost of attaining a given level of utility in the economic theory of index numbers developed by Konus, Frisch and others half a century ago. I identify five logically distinct and internally‐consistent concepts of real income: maximum sustainable consumption, consumption plus the output of new capital goods, consumption plus the increase in the capital stock where capital can be measured in two quite separate ways, and the sum of actual consumption and consumption forgone in the investment process. The last of these concepts is the most appropriate as a guide to producing long time series of real income for measuring a country's rate of economic growth.
THE DEVELOPMENT OF NATIONAL ACCOUNTS IN ARGENTINA*
Authors: Sourrouille J. V.
Published: March 2005

The history of national accounting in Argentina is presented in brief. The use of the production method as a basis for GDP estimates is explained and sources and methods of deriving the estimates for different sectors are commented on in some detail. Next the reliability of the estimates is examined for sectoral product, national income by factor shares and the components of final expenditure in terms of the comparison of two different estimates for the period 1950–1963. The degree of accuracy is judged to be generally sufficient, but the importance of economic censuses in the process of estimation is stressed. The importance of detailed studies on several different aspects of the economic structure (input‐output, personal and family income by size and regional accounts) is also stressed as a basis for improving the reliability of estimates.
DEVELOPMENT OF ESTIMATES OF THE STOCK OF FIXED CAPITAL IN THE UNITED KINGDOM*
Authors: Hibbert J. , Griffin T. J. , Walker R. L.
Published: March 2005

The historical background and present methodology used in compiling the U.K. official estimates of the stock of fixed capital are described. Mention is made of the possibility that with the development of commercial accounting direct estimates of capital stock may be derived from enterprise accounts at some future time. For the present, however, an indirect perpetual inventory approach is followed. Some of the deficiencies of the present estimates are discussed including the effects of possible biases in the life‐length assumptions, price indices and the treatment of secondhand assets. Estimates of gross capital stock are given analysed by industry group of ownership and by type of asset.

Some conceptual issues are discussed in relation to user requirements, including the distinction between the stock of capital and the flow of services from it.

The authors conclude that little can be done to improve the perpetual inventory estimate of fixed capital in the U.K. without devoting more resources to the collection and analysis of new information, particularly on the service lives of fixed assets, the extent of leasing and the transfer of assets between industries.
SIZE OF THE PUBLIC SECTOR, ECONOMIC GROWTH AND THE INFORMAL ECONOMY: DEVELOPMENT TRENDS IN THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF GERMANY*
Authors: Petersen Hans‐Georg
Published: March 2005

The growth of the public sector in the post‐war period and the consequences of this development for economic growth is a strongly disputed subject of economic theory and policy. In this paper the development trends of state activities in the case of the Federal Republic of Germany are presented. The structure of public expenditures as well as the tax structure are taken into consideration and possible impacts on real economic growth are analysed. The negative correlations between some kinds of public expenditures (or taxes) and the growth rate of real GNP should not be taken in proof of the growth‐retarding effects which might ensue from increasing state activities. It seems to be more likely that state activities have induced shifts of resources from the formal into the informal economy. Politicians should be aware that some measures of economic policy conventionally proposed will strengthen the movement into the informal economy, thus intensifying the current problems within the public budgets as well as in the social security system.
QUANTITY AND PRICE EFFECTS IN AN ANALYSIS OF WORLD TRADE BASED ON AN ACCOUNTING MATRIX*
Authors: Weale Martin
Published: March 2005

This paper describes the construction of an accounting matrix for the world economy in 1977, cast along similar lines to SNA National Accounts, but one in which trade flows replace inter‐industry flows as intermediate demand. The matrix distinguishes ten regions. Institutional accounts are presented for three of these, the European Community, North America and Japan. This matrix is used to provide the basis of a linear model in which average propensities to import and consume are replaced by estimated marginal propensities. Use is made of standard estimates of the income effects of terms of trade changes in order to distinguish substitution from income effects in the model, and a means is suggested for separating the full as well as the impact effects of a terms of trade change into income and substitution effects. The estimated import equations are used to derive estimates of regional growth rates compatible with external balance in each region. Multiplier matrices are calculated from the model showing regional interdependence of the world economy reflecting the pattern of trade which is identified in the marginal propensities to import.

The effects of various aid policies are calculated using the model. It is shown that the cost of aid to any region is radically altered by taking into account the feedback effects of changes in demand. A policy of tied aid pursued by EEC, North America and Japan can actually lead to an improvement in Japan's balance of payments position. Finally the effects of movements in relative prices are illustrated by means of two examples.
PROCEDURES FOR UPDATING THE RESULTS OF INTERNATIONAL COMPARISONS
Authors: Szilágyi György
Published: March 2005

This article reviews the problems involved in updating the results of international comparisons, in terms of an analytic framework focusing upon the sources of differences between various forms of extrapolation and direct comparisons. The factors identified as important are conservation of prices of the base period and weight inconsistency. The reliability of updating is undoubtedly affected by the length of the period over which the data are extrapolated. A program of regular benchmark comparisons at approximately five‐year intervals with updating for the intervening years is attractive, since it permits checking by forward and backward interpolation. Where there are large deviations, however, averaging is not an acceptable solution.
TRENDS IN THE CONCENTRATION OF PERSONAL WEALTH IN THE UNITED STATES, 1958 TO 1976
Authors: Smith James D.
Published: March 2005

The trend in the concentration of U.S. wealth from 1958 through 1976 is examined in some detail and summary data are used to extend the period over which the trend is observed back to 1922. The data suggests a long‐run secular decline in the concentration of U.S. wealth with a rather sharp decline in 1976, the last year for which measurements were made. Although the secular decline in wealth concentration is supported by numerous observations across 50 years, the precipitous decline measured between 1972 and 1976 should be interpreted with caution because it undoubtedly reflects the substantial downward revaluation which occurred in the stock market from 1972 (most recent previous observation) to 1976. This is not to argue that wealth holders at the top of the distribution were not made significantly less affluent by the revaluation, but that the 1976 observation includes a large cyclical component. Future observations which include the subsequent upward revaluation in the stock market are expected to show levels of concentration comparable to or only slightly below those for 1958 through 1972.
MEASURING HOUSEHOLD ACTIVITIES: SOME INTERNATIONAL COMPARISONS
Authors: Chadeau Ann
Published: March 2005

This paper focusses on macroeconomic approaches to the measurement of non‐market household work or production in industrialised countries. It details the variety of parameters involved, the choice of which depends on the specific aim pursued by authors. A review of different aims pursued, parameters chosen, concepts used, alternative methods applied, and available statistical data is presented and results of evaluations are then compared. The money value of household activities is given in percentage of GNP and comparisons are made within the framework of similar approaches. Under this condition, results are remarkably consistent. At the same time, the paper shows how sensitive results are to the method used; it also puts emphasis on the lack of adequate statistical data which may be held responsible for a gap between the theoretical model of evaluation and its practical implementation. In the present state of knowledge, no definite assertion can be made on the time trend of household work and its money value as percentage of GNP or national income. The paper stresses the importance availability of data on the volume and nature of non‐market household output would have for future research on the economic contribution of households in industrialised as well as in developing countries. Such data permitting an output approach to measurement would lead to better understanding of the interrelation between market and household sectors and would therefore improve economic analysis and forecasting. Adequate statistical data could possibly be collected through a process similar to that used for time use data in national surveys.
DEVELOPMENT OF AN ALGORITHM FOR THE COMPILATION OF NATIONAL ACCOUNTS AND RELATED SYSTEMS OF STATISTICS*
Authors: van Tongeren Jan W.
Published: March 2005

The present article includes a proposal for a national accounts algorithm to be applied in the computerization of the national accounts compilation process. While aiming at the estimation and reconciliation of data from different statistical sources, it is based on the application of a linear programming technique applied to a system of identities and inequalities that define the accounting and analytical relations between the data categories of a national accounting framework. The technique is flexible in the sense that it can be used with any configuration of available statistical sources and data requirements of the national accounts. The algorithm is illustrated graphically with help of a simple example and thereafter applied to an extended but still simple national accounting scheme for Suriname with data for 1965 that was compiled by the author many years ago. As the present study is only a first step in the development of the algorithm, more work is needed to make it operational and the last section of the article includes suggestions about the direction of that further work.
THE TREATMENT OF INTEREST AND FINANCIAL INTERMEDIARIES IN THE NATIONAL ACCOUNTS OF AUSTRALIA
Authors: Haig Bryan
Published: March 2005

This paper is divided into two main sections. The first part summarises briefly the main points which have arisen in the lengthy debate over the treatment of banking intermediaries in the national accounts. The discussion emphasises the method adopted in the early Australian accounts when banks were treated in the same way as the general government. It is argued that this method is simpler and provides a more realistic account of the functions of banks than the current SNA proposal.

The second part of the paper examines the functions of banks in Australia. It uses data of interest and administration cost for separate banking institutions to examine the incidence of bank costs. It is concluded that the costs do not fall on borrowers or lenders but are a charge in providing a communal service in the establishment and maintenance of the financial system.
THE IMPORTANCE OF ASSET INCOME AMONG THE ELDERLY*
Authors: Boyle Torrey Barbara , Teauber Cynthia M.
Published: March 2005

This paper focuses on the income patterns among the elderly. The life cycle hypothesis suggests that income and assets will decline after retirement. Data from the 1980 U.S. decennial census confirms that total income declines for succeeding elderly cohorts. The census data, however, shows that income from assets for elderly cohorts increases until the cohort aged 85 years and older. This pattern is similar for different sex‐marital groups. Recent research that has addressed the issue of savings among the elderly is summarized and four possible explanations for the increase in income from assets found in the decennial census are discussed. We conclude by suggesting the implications of this data for the life cycle theory and public policy.
LINKAGES BETWEEN MACRO AND MICRO BUSINESS ACCOUNTS: IMPLICATIONS FOR ECONOMIC MEASUREMENT
Authors: Postner Harry H.
Published: March 2005

The paper shows the relationship between microbusiness accounting based on double‐entry bookkeeping and macroeconomic accounting based on quadruple‐entry bookkeeping. In order for microaccounts to successfully aggregate into macroaccounts (i.e. preserve macro/micro linkages), quadruple‐entry bookkeeping requires that the traditional double entries, recorded by transacting microbusiness units, be “consistent” with each other. In fact national economic accounting implicitly assumes that such consistency is maintained when national “aggregates” are uniquely extracted from national accounts and when national “identities” are claimed to hold true.

The main purpose of the paper is to show important examples where quadruple‐entry consistency is not satisfied. These examples typically involve “complex” economic transactions between business units in which the legal form of the transactions do not necessarily represent their economic substance. When this occurs, different business units have genuinely divergent conceptions and perceptions with respect to their mutual economic transactions. Therefore, microbusiness accounts cannot be successfully aggregated into macroeconomic accounts without violating the integrity of microdecision making records.

The conclusion of the paper introduces a new theory called Perpetual Imbalanced Accounting. The theory shows that inconsistent (or imbalanced) economic accounting does tend to become consistent (or balanced) over sufficiently long time periods. Therefore, we must adopt a more dynamic view of national accounting if we desire to preserve successful macro/micro linkages. However, the problems of imbalanced macroaccounting and its statistical consequences cannot be entirely avoided no matter how long the accounting time period is taken. All of the above have important implications for the revision of the United Nations System of National Accounts.
MEASURING WEALTH WITH SURVEY DATA: AN EVALUATION OF THE 1983 SURVEY OF CONSUMER FINANCES
Authors: Avery Robert B. , Elliehausen Gregory E. , Kennickell Arthur B.
Published: March 2005

Because wealth estimates from survey data have usually fallen substantially short of independent aggregate estimates, survey data have not been seen as adequate for assessing questions dependent on a good representation of the entire distribution of wealth, such as estimates of wealth concentration. The 1983 Survey of Consumer Finances (SCF), which contains a supplementary sample of very high income households drawn from a tax‐file sample frame, is the first U.S. survey since the 1963 Survey of Financial Characteristics of Consumers that offers hope of accurately measuring the entire wealth distribution. In this paper, we discuss the design of the survey, the critical issue of proper weighting to merge the supplementary sample with an area probability sample, and the role of imputation. We show that the use of ordinary area probability samples alone leads to probable bias in the measurement of highly concentrated assets such as stocks and bonds. We compare the SCF data with aggregates derived from the flow‐of‐funds accounts of the Federal Reserve Board. While methodological issues cloud exact comparisons, it appears overall that the SCF estimates are at least as credible as other aggregate measurements. Finally, we use the data to assess the change in concentration of wealth from 1963 to 1983. We estimate that the concentration of wealth in terms of households did not change significantly over this period.
SERVICES INDUSTRIES IN THE BUSINESS SECTOR OF THE CANADIAN ECONOMY
Authors: Lal Kishori
Published: March 2005

The focus of this paper is an examination of concepts and statistics necessary to support the measurement of real output of services industries. Although applied to the business sector of the Canadian economy, the issues raised may in fact be relevant for many other countries. The Canadian practice is judged with reference to the international guidelines and recommendations. General methodological issues of deflation are examined, particularly double deflation, extrapolation and rebasing. The perennial problems such as the deflation of imputed banking services, insurance, trade margins, etc. are analysed with a view to provide some tentative solutions thereof. Quality assessment of statistics and the criteria used for such an assessment are indicated to share our concern with the international colleagues facing similar problems.
UNITS IN NATIONAL ACCOUNTS AND THE BASIC SYSTEM OF ECONOMIC STATISTICS
Authors: Bloem Adriaan M.
Published: March 2005

Units which are actually used in legal‐administrative reality often are not directly suitable as statistical units. For the purposes of the statistical description of the economic processes a transformation is needed. In this paper I examine the consequences of a changing legal‐administrative reality to the definition of statistical units, particularly in the light of the SNA revision now under way.
INTERSTATE INCOME INEQUALITY IN THE UNITED STATES: MEASUREMENT, MODELLING AND SOME CHARACTERISTICS
Authors: Ram Rati
Published: March 2005

Five points are made in this study. First, using a well‐recommended measure, interstate income inequality is reported for each year from 1950 through 1989, and its very small magnitude is pointed out along with the U‐shaped profile. Second, it is shown that a simple quadratic‐form model fits the data extremely well. Third, inequality indices for 1977 and 1988 are recomputed after adjusting for interstate price‐level variations, and large reductions in the indices, and a virtual disappearance of the increase in inequality after 1978, are noted. Fourth, a simple decomposition shows that income changes account for most of the inequality change in each decade. Last, states that have contributed most to inequality are identified.
POST‐REFORM PRODUCTIVITY PERFORMANCE AND SOURCES OF GROWTH IN CHINESE INDUSTRY: 1980–85
Authors: McGuckin Robert H. , Nguyen Sang V. , Taylor Jeffrey R. , Waite Charles A.
Published: March 2005

This paper examines the productivity growth and its sources in 39 Chinese industries in the post‐reform period 1980–85. We use both the gross‐output and value‐added models to isolate the contributions of labor, capital, materials and technical efficiency to growth in industrial output. Using new data from the National Industrial Census of China (1988) for large and medium‐size enterprises, we find that Chinese industries, in particular, those in the manufacturing experienced sharp increases in total factor productivity growth in the 1984–85 period as compared to the 1980–84 period. Moreover, collective and private enterprises show higher output and total factor productivity gains than do state enterprises. Our regression results show that total factor productivity gains are closely tied to increases in retained profits and the proportion of total employees that are technical workers. However, labor bonuses have a negative effect on total factor productivity growth.
THE DISTRIBUTION OF INCOME AND WEALTH IN JAPAN
Authors: Bauer John , Mason Andrew
Published: March 2005

This paper reviews research on the distribution of income and wealth in Japan, identifies sources of data on income and wealth, and describes limitations of these data. Evidence that Japan's poorest income groups are relatively well‐off is convincing, but there is less evidence that the overall distribution of income in Japan is more equal than in other OECD countries. Agricultural policy, social welfare policy, the tax system, trends in earnings differentials, and the role of the Japanese family are among the many factors that have shaped Japan's income distribution. The rapid appreciation of the stock market and land prices during the late 1980s led to greater inequality in the distribution of wealth. Rapid population aging is expected to lead to an increase in total national wealth relative to national income which may have an adverse impact on the distribution of income.
INCOME DISTRIBUTION IN THE U.S.S.R. IN THE 1980s
Authors: Alexeev Michael V. , Gaddy Clifford G.
Published: March 2005

In 1989 Soviet authorities released unprecedented new data on the size distribution of income in the U.S.S.R. in the 1980s, including the distributions by republics. With the goal of providing a benchmark for evaluating the effect of current and future economic reforms on income distribution in the former Soviet Union, this paper estimates inequality measures for the new data. The estimation uses a simple nonparametric technique based on the Kolmogorov‐Smirnov test to fit the Soviet data to a lognormal distribution. The results suggest that, for income from official sources, (1) inequality in the Soviet Union as a whole declined throughout the 1980s‐both before and after Gorbachev's accession in 1985, and (2) income inequality was greater in the poorer, southern republics of the U.S.S.R. than in the north. While the inclusion of unofficial (unreported) private income would probably reinforce the second of these two trends, its effect on the first cannot be determined on the basis of available information.
SAVINGS: BUBBLES AND FUNDAMENTALS
Authors: Rymes Thomas K.
Published: March 2005

A Review of Laurence J. Kotlikoff, What Determines Savings?
INTRODUCTION OF THE SNA INTO THE OFFICIAL STATISTICS OF THE COMMONWEALTH OF INDEPENDENT STATES
Authors: Ivanov Youri , Rjabushkin Boris , Homenko Tatjana
Published: March 2005

The work on the introduction of the elements of the SNA into the official statistical practice of the former U.S.S.R. began in 1988 when estimates of the GDP using conversion keys were prepared. In 1991 the decision was made to implement the entire SNA gradually on the basis of the international standards. The methodology of compilation of the main accounts was formulated by the Statistical Committcc of the C.I.S. with the assistance of the OECD. It originally drew on the ESA with introduction of elements of the revised SNA and adaption to specific economic processes in the country. It required solution of a number of conceptual and statistical problems referring to the treatment, allocation and valuation of selected activities. The estimates of the main accounts were made for the former U.S.S.R. by sectors and by industries for 1988–90. This project has provided the basis for further work on implementation of the SNA in C.I.S. countries.
POVERTY IN PRE‐REFORM UZBEKISTAN: WHAT DO OFFICIAL DATA REALLY REVEAL?
Authors: Marnie Sheila , Micklewright Hohn
Published: March 2005

Using 1989 household survey data, we investigate large differences in poverty measured with a conventional all‐Union per capita income line between Uzbekistan, the largest Central Asian republic of the former U.S.S.R., and Ukraine as an example of a European republic. We show that (i) differences between the two countries in the distribution of household size is not the main explanation, (ii) undervaluation of agricultural income in kind understates the welfare of rural households, something of particular importance in Uzbekistan, and (iii) indicators of food consumption provide important additional information. Lessons are drawn for the measurement of poverty in post‐Union Uzbekistan.
THE EVOLUTION OF MODERN ECONOMIC ACCOUNTS
Authors: KENDRICK JOHN W.
Published: March 2005

Review of Zoltan Kenessey (Ed.), The Accounts of Nations
A CLOSE LOOK AT DISSAVING IN THE LONGITUDINAL RETIREMENT HISTORY SURVEY
Authors: Kuehlwein Michael
Published: March 2005

Hurd (1987) provided evidence from the Longitudinal Retirement History Survey that the retired elderly dissave. This paper attempts to refine and extend that analysis in several ways. I determine how sensitive his results are to his method for estimating missing data. I calculate median dissaving rates, a more robust measure of dissaving. I provide confidence intervals for those rates. Finally, 1 compute estimates based on a method that weights all households equally. The results are mixed. Hurd's dissaving finding is confirmed in many specifications, but questions are raised about dissaving among couples and the method of elderly dissaving.
IS JAPAN'S HOUSEHOLD SAVING RATE REALLY HIGH?
Authors: Horioka Charles Yuji
Published: March 2005

This paper discusses, and measures the quantitative impact of, a number of conceptual issues relating to the household saving rate data in the National Accounts of Japan. It finds that Japan's seemingly high household saving rate is biased due to the exclusion of capital transfers and real capital gains, the valuation of depreciation at historical cost rather than at replacement cost, the use of a residual measure of financial saving rather than Flow of Funds Accounts data thereon, and the treatment of expenditures on consumer durables as consumption rather than as saving, but that the biases are to a considerable extent mutually offsetting. It also finds that the Japan‐U.S. gap in household (personal) saving rates is due largely to conceptual differences and deficiencies and that household saving in Japan consists primarily of financial saving (net lending), meaning that most of it is available to finance investment in other sectors of the economy and/or abroad.
PRODUCTIVE CAPITAL IN ITALY: A DISAGGREGATED ESTIMATE BY SECTORS OF ORIGIN AND DESTINATION: 1985–88
Authors: Costa Paolo , Marangoni Giandemetrio
Published: March 2005

This study presents a series of matrices of the capital stock disaggregated both by branch of origin and by branch of destination for the years 1985 to 1988 for Italy. The tables, whose dimensions are 23 × 23, were constructed using the perpetual inventory method and are based on disaggregated time series of gross capital formation provided by Istat (Italian Statistical Institute). The tables refer to both gross and net capital (with straight‐line depreciation) and have been tested on alternative hypotheses for the average expected service lives of capital goods and their survival functions.
SOME ESTIMATES OF TRADE FLOWS IN BANKING SERVICES
Authors: St‐Hilaire France , Whalley John
Published: March 2005

This paper presents some estimates of international trade in banking services. We use IMF data on assets and liabilities of both domestic banks and non‐banks with foreign banks, and of foreigners with the domestic banking system to construct measures of the volume of transactions on which banking intermediation services are provided across national borders. We then use estimates of the spread between borrowing and lending rates for depositors and borrowers with the financial institutions involved to estimate the value of international flows of intermediation services. Estimates are presented for 1982–84 and 1991–93 for the U.S., the U.K., and Canada.
FINANCIAL INTERMEDIATION SERVICES INDIRECTLY MEASURED: ESTIMATES FOR FRANCE AND THE U.K. BASED ON THE APPROACH ADOPTED IN THE 1993 SNA
Authors: Begg Iain , Bournay Jacques , Weale Martin , Wright Stephen
Published: March 2005

The 1993 SNA proposes a revised treatment of the output of financial intermediaries which treats intermediation services in part as a component of final demand, so that GDP is higher than the 1968 SNA suggests. In this paper we present the results of attempts to estimate FISIM (Financial Intermediation Services Indirectly Measured) for France and the U.K. The French study uses a reference rate calculated to ensure that no imputation is made with respect to own funds, while the U.K. study relies on a market interest rate. Both studies present an allocation of intermediation services by industry as well as by category of demand. The adjustments to GDP are of similar magnitudes in both countries.
A COMPARISON OF ALTERNATIVE MEASURES OF ECONOMIC WELL‐BEING FOR GERMANY AND THE UNITED STATES
Authors: Burkhauser Richard V. , Frick Joachim R. , Schwarze Johannes
Published: March 2005

This paper, using six waves of data (1984‐89) from the United States Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID) and the German Socio‐Economic Panel (GSOEP), compares economic well‐being using single year income, multi‐year income, and wealth as measures. We find inequality to be greater in the United States than in Germany regardless of the measure used. However, the relative degree of inequality varies across measures. When we disaggregate our data by age and gender categories, in general we find greater inequality in the United States, but wealth inequality among older Germans is greater than it is among older Americans.
THE TREND IN URBAN INCOME INEQUALITY IN TWO CHINESE PROVINCES, 1986–90
Authors: Aaberge Rolf , Li Xuezeng
Published: March 2005

This paper discusses to what extent the economic growth in China in the 1980's has improved the economic well‐being in urban regions of the provinces Sichuan and Liaoning and whether or not the economic growth has been attained at the cost of increased inequality. The study is based on individual household data from the State Statistical Bureau's Urban Household Survey during the 1986–90 period.
NEW GNP ESTIMATES FOR THE BELGIAN ECONOMY DURING THE INTERWAR PERIOD
Authors: Buyst Erik
Published: March 2005

New GNP estimates in current and constant prices for the Belgian economy in the interwar period are presented. The series are conceptually and methodologically consistent with the post‐World War Ii data and cover both the income and expenditure approaches. The new estimates differ considerably from the data that have been published before, casting new light on our present understanding of Belgian economic growth in the 1920s and 1930s.
BETWEEN GROUP INEQUALITY AND TARGETED TRANSFERS
Authors: Wodon Quentin T.
Published: March 2005

This paper provides two extensions to the group decomposition of the Gini index by Yitzhaki and Lerman. First, within group, stratification, and between group inequality are analyzed along several dimensions at once. This provides for a better understanding of the determinants of inequality. Second, the impact on the Gini of marginal changes in income or consumption by group is derived. This can be used to evaluate targeted redistributive policies or assess the impact of exogenous shocks by group. The analysis is applied to data from Bangladesh with a focus on the impact of land ownership, education, and occupation on inequality.
THE ROLE OF FINANCIAL CAPITAL IN PRODUCTION
Authors: Keuning Steven
Published: March 2005

It is increasingly acknowledged that the financial structure of a firm is an important determinant of its production costs. This paper argues that the use of a firm's liabilities should be seen as a separate input in the production process. At the same time, the input of non‐financial assets is limited to the value that is used up during the reference period. The paper elaborates on these ideas and shows their use in empirical work. It is concluded that the approach set out in this paper establishes a much closer relationship of general economic accounting and analysis to business economics.