Reference metadata describe statistical concepts and methodologies used for the collection and generation of data. They provide information on data quality and, since they are strongly content-oriented, assist users in interpreting the data. Reference metadata, unlike structural metadata, can be decoupled from the data.
National accounts data concern all data produced and disseminated for an economy according to the definitions and guidelines of the European System of Accounts (ESA2010).
National accounts provide data for the total economy, but may also include breakdowns of the total economy (into sectors, industries, products, regions, etc.). National accounts provide data for several domains: annual and quarterly national accounts (main aggregates), sector accounts, financial accounts [1], supply and use and input-output tables [2], regional accounts and government finance statistics [3].
One of the main aggregates of national accounts is the change rate of the price-adjusted gross domestic product (GDP), which indicates the economic development of a country or region and is also referred to as economic growth rate. Namely, this change rate is the result of the GDP calculations at constant prices aimed to indicate the dynamic processes in real terms, irrespective of price changes.
[1] In the Republic of Serbia, the National Bank of Serbia is responsible for compiling financial accounts.
[2] Currently, the Serbian national accounts are in the process of developing the supply and use tables, for the period 2015-2017.
[3] To Eurostat are provided only: TP table T0900 - Detailed tax and social contribution receipts by type of tax or social contribution and receiving subsector for General Government, NTL - Detailed list of taxes and social contributions according to national classification as well as EDP tables and Questionnaires related to EDP notification tables (1.2, 4, 5, 9.1).
3.2. Classification system
The ESA 2010 provides a methodology on common standards, definitions, internationally harmonised classifications and accounting rules that are used for compiling national accounts on comparable bases.
The ESA 2010 defines classifications to be used for: institutional sectors, transactions in products, transactions in non-financial non-produced assets, distributive transactions, transactions in financial assets and liabilities, other changes in assets, balancing and net worth items, balance sheet entries, non-financial assets, financial assets and liabilities.
In addition, for several breakdowns ESA 2010 makes use of other classifications: NACE Rev. 2 for economic activities, CPA 2014 for products by economic activities, COFOG for the functions of government, COICOP for individual consumption by purpose, COPNI for classification of the purposes of non-profit institutions serving households, NUTS 2013 for regional breakdowns.
A full overview of classifications is available in:
Classification of Individual Consumption by Purpose (COICOP)
General government consumption
Partially by Classification of the Functions of Government (COFOG)
Gross fixed capital formation
Cross-classified by industry and Classification of fixed assets (AN.11)
External trade statistics
National version of Combined Nomenclature (CN)
Standard International Trade Classification (SITC Rev. 4)
Extended Balance of Payments Services classification (EBOPS 2010)
IMF methodology BPM6 (Balance of Payments Manual, Sixth Edition, 2009)
Regional accounts
Nomenclature of statistical territorial units of the Republic of Serbia (NSTJ) [2]
[1] The national Classification of Activities 2010 (KD 2010) corresponds to the European standard of the Statistical Classification of Economic Activities in the European Community (NACE Rev. 2).
[2] Nomenclature of statistical territorial units of the Republic of Serbia (NSTJ), which has been harmonized with the European Nomenclature of territorial units for statistics (NUTS).
3.3. Coverage - sector
National accounts describe the total economy of a country. All units that have their centre of predominant economic interest in the economic territory of that country are covered.
In addition, several breakdowns of the total are described. Two of the most important breakdowns are the breakdown by institutional sector and the breakdown by NACE Rev. 2 activity. Exhaustiveness is required for each of the breakdown items.
Concerning the institutional sector breakdown, ESA 2010 distinguishes five mutually exclusive domestic institutional sectors (established by grouping resident institutional units): (a) non-financial corporations; (b) financial corporations; (c) general government; (d) households; (e) non-profit institutions serving households. The five sectors together make up the total domestic economy (S.1). Non-resident institutional units, involved in transactions with resident units, create the external sector i.e. the rest of the world (S.2).
Regarding the activity breakdown, ESA 2010 applies NACE Rev.2. Activities can be broken down into several levels of detail, for example into 3, 10, 21, 38, 64 or 88 activities. At the 'highest' level a breakdown into 3 categories is defined: (a) agriculture, forestry and fishing; (b) mining and quarrying, manufacturing, electricity gas steam and air conditioning supply, water supply, sewerage, waste management and remediation activities, construction; (c) services.
3.4. Statistical concepts and definitions
All statistical concepts and definitions to be used in national accounts are described in Annex A of the ESA 2010 Regulation (link to blue book on ESA2010 methodology). The two main sets of tables concern: (a) the institutional sector accounts; (b) the input-output framework, and the accounts by industry.
The sector accounts provide, by institutional sector, a systematic description of the different stages of the economic process: production, generation of income, distribution of income, redistribution of income, use of income and financial and nonfinancial accumulation. The sector accounts also include balance sheets to describe the stocks of assets, liabilities and net worth at the beginning and the end of the accounting period. The variables/concepts described in the sector accounts include transactions in products, transactions in non-produced non-financial assets, distributive transactions, transactions in financial assets and liabilities, other changes in assets, non-financial and financial assets and liabilities.
The input-output framework (still in the developing process), through the supply and use tables, sets out in more detail the production process (cost structure, income generated and employment) and the flows of goods and services (output, imports, exports, final consumption, intermediate consumption and capital formation by product group). These variables are broken down by industry (NACE Rev. 2) and product (CPA 2014).
ESA 2010 also encompasses concepts of population and employment (still in the developing process). Such concepts are relevant for the sector accounts, the accounts by industry and the supply and use framework.
Regional accounts provide regional breakdowns for major aggregates such as gross value added by industry, gross fixed capital formation and household income. Regional breakdowns are based on the NUTS classification. National accounts concepts are also used for regional accounts.
In addition Annex A of the ESA 2010 Regulation addresses and defines numerous other concepts and definitions, such as the definition of: statistical units and their groupings, flows and stocks, accounting rules (valuation, time of recording, consolidation and netting). The main features and principles for the compilation of national accounts can be found in Chapter 1.
3.5. Statistical unit
Following the ESA 2010 guidelines, in national accounts two types of units and two corresponding ways of subdividing the economy are used: (a) institutional unit; (b) local kind-of-activity unit (local KAU). The first type is used for describing income, expenditure and financial flows as well as balance sheets. The second type of units is used for the description of production processes, for input-output analysis and for regional analysis.
An institutional unit is an economic entity characterised by decision-making autonomy in the exercise of its principal function. A resident unit is regarded as constituting an institutional unit in the economic territory where it has its centre of predominant economic interest if it has decision-making autonomy and either keeps a complete set of accounts, or is able to compile a complete set of accounts.
A local KAU groups all the parts of an institutional unit in its capacity as producer which are located in a single site or in closely located sites, and which contribute to the performance of an activity at the class level (four digits) of the NACE Rev. 2.
An institutional unit comprises one or more local KAUs; a local KAU belongs to one and only one institutional unit.
3.6. Statistical population
The national accounts population of a country consists of all resident statistical units (institutional units or local KAUs, see section 3.5). A unit is a resident unit of a country when it has a centre of predominant economic interest on the economic territory of that country, that is, when it engages for an extended period (one year or more) in economic activities on this territory.
National accounts are exhaustive. This means that all resident statistical units are covered.
The concept of statistical population is not applicable in the national accounts context.
3.7. Reference area
The reference area for the compilation of the Serbian system of national accounts is the territory of the Republic of Serbia. Nevertheless, starting from 1999 the SORS has not at disposal and may not provide certain data relative to AP Kosovo and Metohia and therefore these data are not included in the coverage for the Republic of Serbia.
3.8. Coverage - Time
Quarterly and annual national accounts are available from 1995 onwards.
Regional accounts data are available from 2010 onwards.
3.9. Base period
The concept of 'base period' is not applied in national accounts. Instead, for some national accounts variables the concepts of previous year prices and chain-linked volumes are applied, as stipulated in Commission Decision 98/715/EC. Expressing variables at the prices of the previous year allows the calculation of volume indices between the current time period and the previous year. After a reference period is chosen as a benchmark, volume indices can be chain-linked and then applied to variables at current prices of the benchmark year. This generates volume estimates for any period of observation.
Serbia currently uses 2010 as reference year for the compilation of chain-linked volumes. The method to compile quarterly chain-linked volumes is the annual overlap method.
With the exception of some variables concerning population and labour that are usually expressed in number of persons, hours or jobs, the ESA 2010 system shows all flows and stocks in monetary terms: in national currency (RSD). Flows and stocks shall be measured according to their exchange value, i.e. the value at which flows and stocks are in fact, or could be, exchanged for cash. Market prices are, thus, the ESA's reference for valuation.
In addition to measurement in current (market) prices, some national accounts variables are also expressed in previous year's prices and chain-linked volumes, see section 3.9. Furthermore, it is possible to derive growth rates and indices, and various other measures '(e.g. percentages, per capita data, data expressed in purchasing power standards)' can be applied as well.
Serbia follows the rules described above. Nevertheless, the values of the total GDP and GDP per capita are shown in euros (EUR) and dollars (USD) as well.
The usual reference period to be used for presenting national accounts data is the calendar year for annual data and the quarter for quarterly data.
Two basic kinds of information are recorded: flows and stocks. Flows refer to actions and effects of events that take place within a given period of time (year or quarter), while stocks refer to positions at a point of time (usually the beginning or end of a year or quarter).
6.1. Institutional Mandate - legal acts and other agreements
National accounts are compiled in accordance with the European System of Accounts (ESA 2010) which was published in the Official Journal as Annex A of Regulation (EU) No 549/2013. The ESA 2010 transmission programme is covered in Annex B
The ESA 2010 has the form of a Regulation and it provides for:
a methodology (Annex A) on common standards, definitions, classifications and accounting rules that shall be used for compiling accounts and tables on comparable bases (link to blue book on ESA 2010 methodology);
a programme of data transmission (Annex B) setting out the time limits by which Member States shall transmit to Eurostat the accounts and tables (link to ESA 2010 transmission programme).
The main legal framework for statistical system has been given under Official Statistics Law (“Official Gazette of RS” No 104/09).
6.2. Institutional Mandate - data sharing
The data on National Accounts are transmitted to Eurostat.
7.1. Confidentiality - policy
Regulation (EC) No 223/2009 on European statistics (recital 24 and Article 20(4)) of 11 March 2009 (OJ L 87, p. 164), stipulates the need to establish common principles and guidelines ensuring the confidentiality of data used for the production of European statistics and the access to those confidential data with due account for technical developments and the requirements of users in a democratic society. The European Statistics Code of Practice provides further conditions that have to be respected by statistical offices in regard to statistical confidentiality (Principle 5).
Pursuant to Article 46 of the Official Statistics Law (“Official Gazette of RS”, No 104/09), Articles 7 and 35 of the Law on Government Administration (“Official Gazette of RS ”, No 79/05 and 101/07) and Articles 9, 15, 16. and 18. of the Law on Free Access to Information of Public Interest (“Official Gazette of RS”, No 120/04, 54 /07 and 104/09), the Director of the SORS thereby adopt the Rulebook on statistical data protection at the Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia. The Rulebook lays down the measures to be implemented so as to protect data and information at the SORS.
7.2. Confidentiality - data treatment
In a statistical sense, ‘confidential data’ means data which allow statistical units to be identified, either directly or indirectly, thereby disclosing individual information. To determine whether a statistical unit is identifiable, account shall be taken of all relevant means that might reasonably be used by a third party to identify the statistical unit. Although national accounts data are usually highly aggregated, there may be possible cases for detailed breakdowns of aggregates and/or small economies. In these cases measures should be taken in order not to disclose data of a separate statistical unit. Guidance on how to prevent disclosure can be found in the Handbook on Statistical Disclosure Control.
As defined in the Serbian Legal Acts mentioned in the section 7.1:
Secret, confidential as well as aggregated data shall be protected from unauthorized disclosure if individual information can be identified therefrom. Two copies of those data, defined in the processing program, shall be safeguarded on magnetic mediums, as well as in paper from as long as anticipated by the processing program, that is, by the list of safeguarding archives and records.
The protection of secret data and documents shall be done in accordance with the Law on Data Secrecy.
Confidential data from Article 3. of the Rulebook are considered official secret and cannot be published or communicated, that is, they cannot be part of aggregated data from which individual data can be identified. Individual data can be given only to the owner of those data.
The protection of the integrity and secrecy of confidential data shall comply with the method specified in the programme of data processing.
Only the employees of the Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia authorized by the decision of the Director of the SORS shall have access to confidential data from administrative sources.
8.1. Release calendar
Good practice requires that new national accounts data and associated news releases are announced in a release calendar that is published well in advance of the respective releases.
Data are published in line with release calendar, updated annually.
In line with the Community legal framework and the European Statistics Code of Practice (Principle 6 on impartiality and objectivity, Principle 13 on timeliness and punctuality and Principle 15 on accessibility and clarity), national accounts data that meet the quality standards, including relevant metadata, should be made available to users. Users should be informed when the data become available and how they can be accessed.
Official Statists Law (“Official Gazette of RS” No 104 /09) gives framework for release policy as well as user access.
New quarterly national accounts data are published each quarter: 4 times per year. However, depending on circumstances and national practices, initially released quarterly national accounts data may be revised and disseminated again. Annual national accounts data are published at least once a year: when data for a new year are added. But, depending on country practices and revision policy, annual data can also be published more often, e.g. publication of a provisional estimate early in the calendar year and a revised one later in the calendar year.
10.1. Dissemination format - News release
The most important results of national accounts are issued in news releases. New key national accounts data may also be presented in press conferences or press briefings. The exact dates are pre-announced in release calendars (see section 8.2 above).
In addition to news releases, national accounts data may be disseminated in other publications, such as statistical papers, yearbooks, internal and external articles. Usually this concerns publications in which more in-depth analysis is carried out.
In order to enable easy access to national accounts data, all validated national accounts data should be made available to users by publishing them in an online database.
The general methodological framework for the compilation of national accounts in the EU is ESA 2010.
In addition, several handbooks have been developed to help compilers to produce national accounts data. Some of the most important methodological manuals are the Handbook on quarterly national accounts, Manual on regional accounts methods, Eurostat Manual of Supply, Use and Input-Output Tables, Manual on Government Deficit and Debt. Also, guidance manuals on specific topics are available, e.g. compilation guide on land estimation, compilation guide on inventories, Manual on measuring Research and Development in ESA 2010.
The manuals above specifically apply to EU national accounts statistics. However, world-wide equivalents are often also available: SNA 2008, Quarterly National Accounts Manual, Handbook on Input-Output Table Compilation and Analysis, Government Finance Statistics Manual.
Methodological information related to annual and quarterly national accounts, gross domestic product at constant prices, gross fixed capital formation as well as satellite accounts can be found on the following webpage: http://www.stat.gov.rs/en-US/istrazivanja/methodology-and-documents/?a=09&s=0. Some of the documents are still based on ESA 1995; they have been updated and consolidated into the document “GDP Methodology - sources and methods”.
Apart from the methodological information, the description of the national accounting system is provided in many SORS publications and the online versions are available as free download:
System of National Accounts of the Republic of Serbia, 1997-2006;
Statistical Yearbook (chapter national accounts);
Regional GDP, 2017;
Measuring economic performance: the case of Serbia.
Besides, there is also comprehensive and transparent description of the annual and quarterly national accounts data sources and methods used in calculating GDP/GNI of the country; i.e. GDP Methodology - sources and methods [1] and Quarterly National Accounts Inventory [2].
The importance of national accounts requires that documentation should be available on the procedures applied for quality management and quality assessment. Examples of such documentation are national accounts quality reports, quality studies and reports on revision analysis.
Quality reports for regional accounts (Regional household account quality report and regional GVA quality report) were prepared and provided to Eurostat within IPA 2011 project in 2014.
11.1. Quality assurance
Quality of national accounts data is assured by strict application of ESA 2010 concepts and by applying the guidelines of the ESS handbook for quality reports.
During the overall compilation process, national and regional accounts data undergo several kinds of quality checks, e.g. ex-ante (source statistics), ongoing (results), ex-post (methods used) and external checks (Eurostat and IMF).
The SORS established “Quality policy” as the general framework based on which it defines the design and implement the system of quality management, and “Quality strategy” as the framework for the SORS activities as regards the implementation of QM. Additionally, plan of implementation of quality strategy is defined. The SORS quality management system relies on the mission and vision of the Serbian official statistics, European Statistics Code of Practice - CoP, and the principles of Total Quality Management – TQM, which represent the common framework of the European Statistical System (ESS) quality standard. The model of Total Quality Management defines generally the areas of activity and criteria that must be taken into account in quality management. Accordingly, SORS has defined four areas for continuous quality improvement: (1) User orientation (2) Quality of statistical products and processes (3) Strengthening the cooperation with data providers and (4) Staff professional development and satisfaction.
11.2. Quality management - assessment
Due to their great importance for administrative purposes, national accounts are regularly made subject to international audits; for example by Eurostat, the International Monetary Fund and OECD.
Statistical Management Information System (SMIS) or compliance database is used for measuring the harmonization of statistics with EU statistical standards; especially the implementation of the methodological, as well as the statistical legislation requirements. In the latest assessment report (2017 SMIS + Compliance Monitoring round), Eurostat evaluated the Module: European system of accounts as medium compliant. Serbia is recommended to improve the compliance with ESA 2010, step by step, including the further development of suitable statistical sources. The transmission of a more complete set of national accounts data according to the ESA2010 Transmission Programme should be given high priority. Further projects support should be offered based on the findings of the IPA projects and the needs to be expressed by the country. It is also recommended to regularly update and extend the “Description of sources and methods used to compile National Accounts”.
12.1. Relevance - User Needs
National accounts data provide key information for economic policy monitoring and decision making, for forecasting, for administrative purposes, for informing the general public about economic developments (directly or indirectly via news agencies), and as input for economic research.
The national accounts are relevant as quantitative basis for everyone working with economics, ranging from the use of national accounts in the Ministry of Economy, the Ministry of Finance, the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Serbia, the National Bank of Serbia for planning, analysing, modelling and forecasting purposes, to their use by various public organisations and public interest in the structure and development of the economy. Besides, the results of national accounts are also important to the identified groups of users (general public, specialized journalists, etc.).
12.2. Relevance - User Satisfaction
From 10 to 24 October 2017, the SORS for the fourth time conducted a User Satisfaction Survey, in order to obtain information on users’ needs, their satisfaction with the information and services, as well as to obtain information about the quality of data and services provided by the SORS.
12.3. Completeness
Completeness of the Serbian national accounts data can be observed in the context of meeting Eurostat data requirements set in the Programme of data transmission to Eurostat (Transmission programme). The providing of the national accounts data to Eurostat, in line with ESA 95, started in February 2013. Starting from October 2014, the transmission of the national accounts tables is carried out as a regular activity envisaged by ESA 2010.
13.1. Accuracy - overall
The traditional measures of accuracy would be difficult to apply to the national accounts estimates, but can be indirectly accessed through evaluation of the reliability of the released analysis of the revisions of GDP and its components. Figures are revised quarterly or annually. These revisions are small and based on additional information received during the reference period. However, major revisions, like those from 2014 and 2018, are required because of the introduced new methodology or upgraded of data sources.
Comprehensive revisions of GDP data usually result in upward adjustments, as upgraded data sources increase the coverage of the economy, and as new weights for growing industries more accurately reflect their contributions to the economy.
13.2. Sampling error
Not relevant for these statistics.
13.3. Non-sampling error
Not relevant for these statistics.
14.1. Timeliness
National accounts data should become available to users as timely as possible, taking into account the frequency of the data (annual or quarterly), the character of the data (info on the structure of an economy or on conjuncture developments) and an adequate balance between accuracy and timeliness.
The ESA 2010 transmission programme defines the required timeliness for all national accounts tables. Quarterly tables should become available between 2 and 3 months after the quarter-end. The annual tables have to be transmitted between 2 months (main aggregates) and 36 months (supply and use tables) after the end of the reference year.
Release timetable
Indicators
Publishing period
Format
Quarterly gross domestic product at constant prices - flash estimate
Annual national accounts - as sum of four quarters
t+60 days
Statistical release
Annual national accounts
t+9 months
Statistical releases
Sectoral accounts
t+21 months
Statistical Yearbook
Regional accounts - preliminary
t+10 months
Press release
Regional accounts
t+15 months
Working paper
t = reference period
[1] 1st Quarter – end of May; 2nd Quarter – end of August; 3rd Quarter – end of November; 4th Quarter – end of February of the subsequent year.
14.2. Punctuality
The release dates for the statistics of national accounts are indicated in the annual Release calendar, which is updated on yearly basis. The calendar is accessible to public before the beginning of a calendar year, referring to the following year. It provides the review of all statistical releases and publications with precisely stated title, referent period and date of publishing.
Deviations from the Calendar are published and explained on the SORS website. In case it is necessary to postpone the data publishing due to unpredicted occasions (e.g. technical reasons), the new release date, with the stated explanation, is to be provided in the scope of the Calendar.
15.1. Comparability - geographical
At the European and global level, there is a far-reaching comparability of the national accounts thanks to the application of the worldwide adopted guidelines on national accounting set out in the ESA 2010 / SNA 2008. The ESA 2010 has been implemented from October 2014; therefrom the data transmission to Eurostat is compliant with the ESA 2010 rules.
[1] Starting from 1999 the Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia has not at disposal and may not provide available certain data relative to AP Kosovo and Metohia and therefore these data are not included in the coverage for the Republic of Serbia (total).
15.3. Coherence - cross domain
Within the system of national accounts there is full consistency between the domains: annual and quarterly national accounts, government accounts, sector accounts, financial accounts, regional accounts, supply and use tables. However, in practice full consistency may not always be possible and temporary discrepancies might occur. They are usually the result of vintage differences.
The data published within the scope of the national accounts (coverage of the total economic activity) often differ from the data published within the scope of the relevant specific statistics regarding similar, or seemingly the same, variables. In most cases, this is due to methodological differences and to the nature of the accounting system in which a number of various data sources are integrated to calculate the results for one variable.
However, comparisons with other statistics at a detailed level will often show differences, partly because of the differences in definitions of variables, and partly because of the calendar year delimitation for the purpose of the national accounts and the requirement as regards the total coverage of the economic activity.
15.4. Coherence - internal
See section 15.3 (Coherence - cross domain).
Not available.
17.1. Data revision - policy
The SORS general revision policy is adopted and published as an official document.
17.2. Data revision - practice
The national accounts data are subject to continuous routine revisions as new input data become available.
The QNA revision policy allows the revisions of Q1‐Q3 data (of the year t) until Q4 data are published (in February of the year t+1) to give the first annual estimates for the year t. These are current revisions. The revisions made due to the annual national accounts are carried out twice. The first revision is carried out when the preliminary annual data (the sum of four quarters) become available and the second one when the final annual data have been determined. In both cases, the quarters of the current year and two previous years are corrected. The exception to the general rule is seasonally adjusted data ‐ they are revised in the context of the whole time series.
The annual national accounts revisions policy is carried out when the need arises to introduce: methodological issues (changed concepts, definitions, classifications), changes of statistical methods, changes of data sources, upgraded coverage of reporting units and corrections of errors and corrections of original data and estimations.
18.1. Source data
All suitable data sources that are available by a given time of release are used to calculate the national accounting results. The most important of them are administrative data sources (the Serbian Business Registers Agency, the Ministry of Finance, the Treasury, the Tax Administration, the Customs Administration, the National Bank of Serbia, the Ministry of Defence, etc.), data from regular statistical surveys as well as other relevant data sources from the statistical system. Furthermore, also certain mainly qualitative information can be important. This information can be used to complete other data, to check the plausibility of other data or to decide on the best way of bookkeeping for new phenomena. In case of Serbia, the most of data sources used for GDP compilation from the production side are administrative, and from the expenditure side are administrative and statistical ones.
Numerous data used for the national accounts compilation are collected as soon as they become available. Different data sources have different frequency.
18.3. Data collection
Not relevant for these statistics because national accounts departments typically do not collect data themselves but receive them from other departments or institutions.
18.4. Data validation
The GDP is calculated applying both the production and the expenditure approach. The two results are then balanced to obtain the official GDP and its aggregates to be published. Data validation is carried out in three steps corresponding to the main processes of the data processing when compiling the national accounts:
1. Thorough data validation is carried out in primary statistics. See the relevant documentation of relevant statistical areas (branch statistics) for more information.
2. Data validation when preparing data for the compilation of GDP by production and expenditure approaches. The national accountants receive and process data on detailed level which makes it possible to go back to the sources.
3. The final data validation is carried out when reconciling the production and the expenditure approach estimates into consistency at a higher aggregation level.
In theory, production and expenditure approach should yield the same value of GDP. However, in practice this is almost impossible. Apart from the different calculation formulas, these two approaches are based on different data sources and their origin (administrative or statistical) and each results in different GDP estimates with its inherent advantages and disadvantages. Hence, the final step in each GDP calculation is the process of mutual harmonization, i.e, balancing the two independent estimates of GDP calculated according to production and expenditure approach.
The balancing process is performed in accordance with ESA 2010 main recommendations and within the framework of available data sources and procedures. Balanced GDP data are available for the period 1995 onwards. Besides, there is a consistency among annual, quarterly, regional and sectoral national accounts data, as well as other parts of the national accounts data.
18.5. Data compilation
The Serbian annual national accounts compile GDP independently, by both the production and the expenditure approach, and the income approach is derived from the production approach.
Quarterly national accounts compile GDP by the production and the expenditure approach. Quarterly GDP in Serbia is determined from the production components, due to the facts that quarterly data on changes in inventories are very limited and that the current practice is to calculate changes in inventories as a residual (subtracting the estimates of final consumption, gross fixed capital formation, acquisition less disposals of valuables and net exports from the production-based GDP estimate).
Annual national accounts estimates of GDP aggregates are compiled using mostly direct data sources, independently using the expenditure and production methods, with consistency between the two approaches being the major aim. GDP is not independently estimated using the income approach. The reason is that there are no independent estimates of operating surplus other than the surplus derived from the production approach after all adjustments of the business accounts and the balancing procedure. Therefore, the individual cost components of the income approach are derived from the production approach where they can be distinguished. By doing this, the operating surplus becomes a residual instead of being calculated directly as the income approach requires.
The main aggregates of the Serbian quarterly and annual national accounts are simultaneously compiled at current prices, at previous year prices and as chain-linked volume measures (reference year 2010), and quarterly GDP also in seasonally adjusted form. For international comparisons, annual GDP is also recalculated into USD (since 1995) and EUR (since 1999). The recalculation of annual GDP into USD and EUR is based on the average annual exchange rate.
Regional GDP is compiled using the NSTJ, at the NUTS level 2 (region) and NUTS level 3 (areas). Besides, data for "extra regio", i.e. extraterritorial unit of the Republic of Serbia (ESA 2010, 13.11) is separately presented. The regionalization of gross value added (GVA) is based on the workplace principle, i.e. on using the economic data on local units of enterprises where the value added is actually created. Regional GVA data are released at the level of NACE activities in RSD millions. Nevertheless, regional GDP data are presented at current prices, growth rates, as well as in PPS (purchasing power standard) and the comparison of the Serbian regions with EU28 indicators.
All adjustments made to the primary data sources used for the GDP compilation can be broken down into data validation adjustments, conceptual adjustments, adjustments for exhaustiveness and balancing adjustments. Data validation adjustments are corrections to the data sources that are uncovered because the various data sources used in the national accounts compilation process may contradict each other. Conceptual adjustments are changes made to the data to bring them in line with the ESA 2010 definitions. Exhaustiveness adjustments include adjustments for non-observed activities that are not included in the primary data sources. Balancing adjustments are adjustments made for no other reason than to satisfy national accounting identities.
The gross domestic product and most of its components can be shown not only in nominal terms (i.e. at current prices), but also in price-adjusted terms. Since 2011, according to the international conventions and binding European legislation, an annually changing price base (previous year’s prices) has been used for price adjustment. This is what is actually done in the calculation applying the method of previous year’s prices: the annual results are valued at annual average prices of the previous year (i.e. for example, results for 2015 at 2014 prices) which, due to the chain-linking of every individual value, form comparable time series.
No comment.
National accounts data concern all data produced and disseminated for an economy according to the definitions and guidelines of the European System of Accounts (ESA2010).
National accounts provide data for the total economy, but may also include breakdowns of the total economy (into sectors, industries, products, regions, etc.). National accounts provide data for several domains: annual and quarterly national accounts (main aggregates), sector accounts, financial accounts [1], supply and use and input-output tables [2], regional accounts and government finance statistics [3].
One of the main aggregates of national accounts is the change rate of the price-adjusted gross domestic product (GDP), which indicates the economic development of a country or region and is also referred to as economic growth rate. Namely, this change rate is the result of the GDP calculations at constant prices aimed to indicate the dynamic processes in real terms, irrespective of price changes.
[1] In the Republic of Serbia, the National Bank of Serbia is responsible for compiling financial accounts.
[2] Currently, the Serbian national accounts are in the process of developing the supply and use tables, for the period 2015-2017.
[3] To Eurostat are provided only: TP table T0900 - Detailed tax and social contribution receipts by type of tax or social contribution and receiving subsector for General Government, NTL - Detailed list of taxes and social contributions according to national classification as well as EDP tables and Questionnaires related to EDP notification tables (1.2, 4, 5, 9.1).
12 June 2019
All statistical concepts and definitions to be used in national accounts are described in Annex A of the ESA 2010 Regulation (link to blue book on ESA2010 methodology). The two main sets of tables concern: (a) the institutional sector accounts; (b) the input-output framework, and the accounts by industry.
The sector accounts provide, by institutional sector, a systematic description of the different stages of the economic process: production, generation of income, distribution of income, redistribution of income, use of income and financial and nonfinancial accumulation. The sector accounts also include balance sheets to describe the stocks of assets, liabilities and net worth at the beginning and the end of the accounting period. The variables/concepts described in the sector accounts include transactions in products, transactions in non-produced non-financial assets, distributive transactions, transactions in financial assets and liabilities, other changes in assets, non-financial and financial assets and liabilities.
The input-output framework (still in the developing process), through the supply and use tables, sets out in more detail the production process (cost structure, income generated and employment) and the flows of goods and services (output, imports, exports, final consumption, intermediate consumption and capital formation by product group). These variables are broken down by industry (NACE Rev. 2) and product (CPA 2014).
ESA 2010 also encompasses concepts of population and employment (still in the developing process). Such concepts are relevant for the sector accounts, the accounts by industry and the supply and use framework.
Regional accounts provide regional breakdowns for major aggregates such as gross value added by industry, gross fixed capital formation and household income. Regional breakdowns are based on the NUTS classification. National accounts concepts are also used for regional accounts.
In addition Annex A of the ESA 2010 Regulation addresses and defines numerous other concepts and definitions, such as the definition of: statistical units and their groupings, flows and stocks, accounting rules (valuation, time of recording, consolidation and netting). The main features and principles for the compilation of national accounts can be found in Chapter 1.
Following the ESA 2010 guidelines, in national accounts two types of units and two corresponding ways of subdividing the economy are used: (a) institutional unit; (b) local kind-of-activity unit (local KAU). The first type is used for describing income, expenditure and financial flows as well as balance sheets. The second type of units is used for the description of production processes, for input-output analysis and for regional analysis.
An institutional unit is an economic entity characterised by decision-making autonomy in the exercise of its principal function. A resident unit is regarded as constituting an institutional unit in the economic territory where it has its centre of predominant economic interest if it has decision-making autonomy and either keeps a complete set of accounts, or is able to compile a complete set of accounts.
A local KAU groups all the parts of an institutional unit in its capacity as producer which are located in a single site or in closely located sites, and which contribute to the performance of an activity at the class level (four digits) of the NACE Rev. 2.
An institutional unit comprises one or more local KAUs; a local KAU belongs to one and only one institutional unit.
The national accounts population of a country consists of all resident statistical units (institutional units or local KAUs, see section 3.5). A unit is a resident unit of a country when it has a centre of predominant economic interest on the economic territory of that country, that is, when it engages for an extended period (one year or more) in economic activities on this territory.
National accounts are exhaustive. This means that all resident statistical units are covered.
The concept of statistical population is not applicable in the national accounts context.
The reference area for the compilation of the Serbian system of national accounts is the territory of the Republic of Serbia. Nevertheless, starting from 1999 the SORS has not at disposal and may not provide certain data relative to AP Kosovo and Metohia and therefore these data are not included in the coverage for the Republic of Serbia.
The usual reference period to be used for presenting national accounts data is the calendar year for annual data and the quarter for quarterly data.
Two basic kinds of information are recorded: flows and stocks. Flows refer to actions and effects of events that take place within a given period of time (year or quarter), while stocks refer to positions at a point of time (usually the beginning or end of a year or quarter).
The traditional measures of accuracy would be difficult to apply to the national accounts estimates, but can be indirectly accessed through evaluation of the reliability of the released analysis of the revisions of GDP and its components. Figures are revised quarterly or annually. These revisions are small and based on additional information received during the reference period. However, major revisions, like those from 2014 and 2018, are required because of the introduced new methodology or upgraded of data sources.
Comprehensive revisions of GDP data usually result in upward adjustments, as upgraded data sources increase the coverage of the economy, and as new weights for growing industries more accurately reflect their contributions to the economy.
With the exception of some variables concerning population and labour that are usually expressed in number of persons, hours or jobs, the ESA 2010 system shows all flows and stocks in monetary terms: in national currency (RSD). Flows and stocks shall be measured according to their exchange value, i.e. the value at which flows and stocks are in fact, or could be, exchanged for cash. Market prices are, thus, the ESA's reference for valuation.
In addition to measurement in current (market) prices, some national accounts variables are also expressed in previous year's prices and chain-linked volumes, see section 3.9. Furthermore, it is possible to derive growth rates and indices, and various other measures '(e.g. percentages, per capita data, data expressed in purchasing power standards)' can be applied as well.
Serbia follows the rules described above. Nevertheless, the values of the total GDP and GDP per capita are shown in euros (EUR) and dollars (USD) as well.
The Serbian annual national accounts compile GDP independently, by both the production and the expenditure approach, and the income approach is derived from the production approach.
Quarterly national accounts compile GDP by the production and the expenditure approach. Quarterly GDP in Serbia is determined from the production components, due to the facts that quarterly data on changes in inventories are very limited and that the current practice is to calculate changes in inventories as a residual (subtracting the estimates of final consumption, gross fixed capital formation, acquisition less disposals of valuables and net exports from the production-based GDP estimate).
Annual national accounts estimates of GDP aggregates are compiled using mostly direct data sources, independently using the expenditure and production methods, with consistency between the two approaches being the major aim. GDP is not independently estimated using the income approach. The reason is that there are no independent estimates of operating surplus other than the surplus derived from the production approach after all adjustments of the business accounts and the balancing procedure. Therefore, the individual cost components of the income approach are derived from the production approach where they can be distinguished. By doing this, the operating surplus becomes a residual instead of being calculated directly as the income approach requires.
The main aggregates of the Serbian quarterly and annual national accounts are simultaneously compiled at current prices, at previous year prices and as chain-linked volume measures (reference year 2010), and quarterly GDP also in seasonally adjusted form. For international comparisons, annual GDP is also recalculated into USD (since 1995) and EUR (since 1999). The recalculation of annual GDP into USD and EUR is based on the average annual exchange rate.
Regional GDP is compiled using the NSTJ, at the NUTS level 2 (region) and NUTS level 3 (areas). Besides, data for "extra regio", i.e. extraterritorial unit of the Republic of Serbia (ESA 2010, 13.11) is separately presented. The regionalization of gross value added (GVA) is based on the workplace principle, i.e. on using the economic data on local units of enterprises where the value added is actually created. Regional GVA data are released at the level of NACE activities in RSD millions. Nevertheless, regional GDP data are presented at current prices, growth rates, as well as in PPS (purchasing power standard) and the comparison of the Serbian regions with EU28 indicators.
All suitable data sources that are available by a given time of release are used to calculate the national accounting results. The most important of them are administrative data sources (the Serbian Business Registers Agency, the Ministry of Finance, the Treasury, the Tax Administration, the Customs Administration, the National Bank of Serbia, the Ministry of Defence, etc.), data from regular statistical surveys as well as other relevant data sources from the statistical system. Furthermore, also certain mainly qualitative information can be important. This information can be used to complete other data, to check the plausibility of other data or to decide on the best way of bookkeeping for new phenomena. In case of Serbia, the most of data sources used for GDP compilation from the production side are administrative, and from the expenditure side are administrative and statistical ones.
New quarterly national accounts data are published each quarter: 4 times per year. However, depending on circumstances and national practices, initially released quarterly national accounts data may be revised and disseminated again. Annual national accounts data are published at least once a year: when data for a new year are added. But, depending on country practices and revision policy, annual data can also be published more often, e.g. publication of a provisional estimate early in the calendar year and a revised one later in the calendar year.
National accounts data should become available to users as timely as possible, taking into account the frequency of the data (annual or quarterly), the character of the data (info on the structure of an economy or on conjuncture developments) and an adequate balance between accuracy and timeliness.
The ESA 2010 transmission programme defines the required timeliness for all national accounts tables. Quarterly tables should become available between 2 and 3 months after the quarter-end. The annual tables have to be transmitted between 2 months (main aggregates) and 36 months (supply and use tables) after the end of the reference year.
Release timetable
Indicators
Publishing period
Format
Quarterly gross domestic product at constant prices - flash estimate
Annual national accounts - as sum of four quarters
t+60 days
Statistical release
Annual national accounts
t+9 months
Statistical releases
Sectoral accounts
t+21 months
Statistical Yearbook
Regional accounts - preliminary
t+10 months
Press release
Regional accounts
t+15 months
Working paper
t = reference period
[1] 1st Quarter – end of May; 2nd Quarter – end of August; 3rd Quarter – end of November; 4th Quarter – end of February of the subsequent year.
At the European and global level, there is a far-reaching comparability of the national accounts thanks to the application of the worldwide adopted guidelines on national accounting set out in the ESA 2010 / SNA 2008. The ESA 2010 has been implemented from October 2014; therefrom the data transmission to Eurostat is compliant with the ESA 2010 rules.
[1] Starting from 1999 the Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia has not at disposal and may not provide available certain data relative to AP Kosovo and Metohia and therefore these data are not included in the coverage for the Republic of Serbia (total).
