Research agenda

The SNA is designed to give a realistic and compact view of the economy that is suitable for policy and analytical use. As the economy changes and policy and analytical needs evolve, the SNA must be reviewed to see if it is still relevant for these purposes. The most obvious example of a change in economic conditions that provokes a reassessment of the adequacy of the national accounting framework is the financial crisis that evolved from late 2008 onwards. Luckily, it was possible to make this assessment before this publication was finished and only minor changes were found necessary in addition to those already proposed for the update, in particular the treatment of standardized guarantees. It had originally been proposed that these should apply only to loans; the events of the crisis suggested this should be applied to a wider range of financial instruments.

Related Subject(s): Economic and Social Development