Group of Experts on the Impact of Globalisation on National Accounts

1. Group of Experts on the Impact of Globalisation on National Accounts Tihomira Dimova UNECE Statistical Division 6 November 2009, OECD WPNA

2. Group of Experts on the Impact of Globalisation on NA (GGNA) • CES Bureau created the GGNA in April 2007 • Objectives: • “review the main distortions in the compilation of NA and related source statistics, as caused by globalisation” • “put forward proposals on how to deal with these distortions in order to improve the quality of NA” • The GGNA: • will “use the SNA as an integrating framework” • will not “analyse source statistics themselves; problems identified will be brought to the attention of the working groups dealing with these source statistics”

3. Group of Experts on the Impact of Globalisation on NA (GGNA) Membership: • Open for all member states of UNECE, OECD and Eurostat • IMF, UNCTAD and WTO participate actively • Leadership sub-group: Canada, Czech Republic, Finland, United Kingdom, USA, UNECE, OECD, Eurostat and IMF • Chaired by Statistics Netherlands • Secretariat provided by the UNECE

4. First Meeting of the GGNA (April 2008, Geneva) • Research agenda: four groups of topics • Allocation of value added and income to national economies • Specialisation of supply chains • Issues related to households, persons and employment • Other issues • Three issues discussed in detail: • Goods sent abroad for processing • Merchanting • MNEs and allocation of income in NA

5. Second Meeting of the GGNA (May 2009, Geneva) Follow up discussion on MNEs and allocation of income in NA,processing, merchanting Six issues discussed in detail: • International transactions in intellectual property • The international standards on recording IPPs are straightforward • Main problem - how to collect the necessary data • Important to understand the incentives of MNEs to involve in IPPs transactions: fiscal engineering, strategic reasons? • The survey proposed in the Handbook on measuring IPPs is a way to approach the problem. Validation procedures are needed.

6. Second Meeting of the GGNA (May 2009, Geneva) • Special Purpose Entities (SPEs) • No common definition and recommendations how to deal with the different SPEs are available • Main issues to be taken into account: actual economic ownership, reasons for existing of the SPEs (production or rerouting of financial flows) • How to collect the necessary data: encouraging MNEs to cooperate; changes in the statistical acts, close cooperation between data compilers • Some countries publish FA with and without the SPEs • A subgroup to work with Statistics Netherlands to reformulate the issue paper: Cyprus, Hungary, Ireland, Luxembourg, Russian Federation and IMF.

7. Second Meeting of the GGNA (May 2009, Geneva) • Remittances • The revised BPM6 and the Compilation Guide provide good conceptual basis for a set of remittances measures, fitting the needs of different users • Main challenge is the practical measurement: large number of small transactors, some of uncertain status; many transactions are outside the official financial system • Compilers should know well their national market • Reporting of data with geographical breakdown will allow mirror flow comparisons and improve data quality.

8. Second Meeting of the GGNA (May 2009, Geneva) • Labour mobility • Need for better internationally comparable data on short-term labour mobility and trade in services through the movement of persons • Labour mobility is a challenge for productivity measures. It also affects GDP, GNI and remittances measures.

9. Second Meeting of the GGNA (May 2009, Geneva) • Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) • After the revision of the SNA and BoP the conceptual frameworks are consistent • Measurement difficulties with direct investment: identifying the direct investor, direct investment enterprise and fellows, measurement of reinvested earnings, data revisions, etc. • Support for the CDIS and other TF on measurement of FDI • Good cooperation between compilers of NA, BoP and FDI statistics needed: confidentiality issues.

10. Second Meeting of the GGNA (May 2009, Geneva) • Transit trade, re-export and quasi transit trade • Quasi transit trade happens when goods are imported in a country and cleared by non-resident entity and then re-exported to a third country • Quasi transit trade: an issue for European accounts but also for the national accounts of individual countries • A solution to impute trade margins under services will be further discussed by Eurostat • The problems could be solved if purely change of ownership principle is followed. However, due to the existing data sources they may persist in the future.

11. Second Meeting of the GGNA (May 2009, Geneva) • Country case studies will be added to the corresponding chapters • Additional chapter on Impact of the Financial Crisis • Coordination with related working groups dealing with issues on the GGNA research agenda • GGNA Dedicated Website: http://www.unece.org/stats/groups/wggna.e.htm

12. Third Meeting of the GGNA • 29-30 April 2010 in Geneva (back-to-back with the Joint Meeting on National Accounts)to discuss: • First draft of the publication based on existing chapters • Labour mobility (organised by FSO of Germany) • Second homes (organised by Statistics Norway) • E-commerce • Impact of the financial crisis (organised by ECB).

13. Further work - Timetable • March 2010: First draft with available chapters will be sent to countries for comments • April 2010: Third meeting of GGNA • May – end 2010: Country consultation, final editing • Beginning 2011: Review and endorsement by the CES Bureau • June 2011: Presentation of the final report to CES