1. Informal Sector Statistics
Alick Nyasulu/SIAP-ESCAP
Informal Sector Statistics Training
Bangkok, Thailand | November 2017

2. Outline of Presentation
Main Features of the SNA
Institutional Units and Sectors

3. Financial transactions
MAIN FEATURES OF THE SNA
Transactions
Production
Stocks
Income distribution
Use of income 
Saving 
Capital transfers
Other Flows
Opening balance sheet
Nonfinancial assets
Capital formation
Revaluation
Closing balance sheet 
Net lending
Financial assets and liabilities
Financial transactions
Other volume changes
Informal
The SNA provides the framework for presenting macroeconomic aggregates in form of a coherent, consistent and integrated set of macroeconomic accounts, balance sheets and tables. The framework is based on a set of internationally agreed concepts, definitions, classifications and accounting rules. The framework seeks to capture the details of the complex economic activities taking place within an economy. It also provides for recording the interactions between different economic agents and groups of agents like households, business companies, government and non-profit institutions who are involved in economic activities.
It has a set of accounts categorised into current, capital and balance sheets. Current accounts record all transactions related to production and income. Capital accounts record all transactions related top capital formation and financial assets and liabilities. Balance sheets record a stock off all assets and liabilities. Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is just one of the many aggregates that are compiled in the system of national accounts.
Formal

4. Stock of Assets and Liabilities
The SNA provides a framework to present estimates of economic flows and stocks in an integrated manner. Its sequence of accounts consists of tables and balance sheets that register (in monetary terms) the economic actions or events (flows) that take place within a given period of time and the effect of these events on the stocks of (economic) assets and liabilities at the beginning and end of that period. The stock of resources and liabilities are measured at points in time.
Economic Stocks are a position in, or holdings of, assets and liabilities at a point in time and the SNA records stocks in accounts, usually referred to as balance sheets, at the beginning and end of the accounting period. Stocks result from the accumulation of prior transactions and other flows, and they are changed by transactions and other flows in the period (note that stocks of produced goods and intermediary goods are referred to as “inventories” in the SNA).
Assets and liabilities are discussed later in this section.

5. Flows
Economic Flows reflect creation, transformation, exchange, transfer or extinction of economic value, and involve change in volume, composition, or value of institutional unit’s assets and liabilities.
Economic Flows reflect creation, transformation, exchange, transfer or extinction of economic value, and involve change in volume, composition, or value of institutional unit’s assets and liabilities. [2008 SNA, para. 3.7] Economic flows are key to the compilation of national accounts. These flows involve the change in economic assets and the sum of these flows during the period is recorded in the system of national accounts. The flows may not all be in the form of transactions

6. The term “assets” is used in the restricted sense of economic assets
Every economic asset must function as a store of value
In the SNA, the term “assets” is used in the restricted sense of economic assets. These are defined as entities: over which (ownership) rights are enforced by institutional units, individually or collectively; and from which economic benefits can be derived by their owners by holding them, or using them, over a period of time. Every economic asset must function as a store of value that depends upon the amounts of the economic benefits that its owner can derive from it or using it.
Different kinds of benefits may be derived from different kinds of assets, as follows: by using assets like building or machinery in production; property incomes: interest, dividends, rents etc. received from financial assets and land; as stores of values (precious stones and metals) without any other benefits being derived from them.

7. Economic Agents Institutional Units, grouped into Sectors
Establishments, grouped into Industries
In most fields of statistics the choice of statistical unit, and methodology used, are strongly influenced by the purposes for which the resulting statistics are to be used (SNA2008, 5.52). In the SNA the economic agents can be grouped into institutional sectors or industries based on establishments
Choice of statistical unit, and methodology used, are strongly influenced by the purposes for which the resulting statistics

8. Institutional Unit An economic entity capable, in its own right, of
Owning goods or assets
Incurring liabilities
Taking economic decisions and engaging in economic activities  Responsible legally
Either has a complete set of accounts or it is meaningful to compile, if required
The theoretical framework used for measuring national income is built on the premise that all economic transactions take place only through institutional units. An institutional unit is defined as an economic entity that is capable of owning assets, incurring liabilities, carrying out economic activities taking decisions on all aspects of economic life and engaging in transactions with other entities.
The theoretical framework used for measuring GDP is built on the premise that all economic transactions take place only through institutional units

9. Types of Institutional Units
Households
Legal or social entities separate from their owners.
Institutional units basis for all accounts (except for production and generation of income accounts). These units are grouped into entities known as institutional sectors
Institutional units basis for all accounts (except for production and generation of income accounts). These units are grouped into entities known as institutional sectors

10. Institutional Unit Establishments Enterprise
An institutional unit in its capacity as a producer of goods and services
It can be:
Corporation (including quasi-corporation)
Non-profit institution
Government unit
Unincorporated enterprise
Situated in a single location
Mainly has only a single productive activity
It is the basis for analysis of: Production, Supply and use, Input-output
An enterprise or part of an enterprise that is situated in a single location with mainly only a single productive activity basis for analysis of Production, Supply and use, Input-output Tables. It is
 grouped into INDUSTRIES using classifications such as the International Standard Industrial Classification of all Economic Activities (ISIC, Rev. 3, Rev.4) It is the basis of compiling only production and generation of income accounts (output, int. cons, value added and its components, gross fixed capital formation)

11. Institutional Unit Non-Market Producers Market Producers
Major part of output is market output
May have secondary output for own final
Major output is for own final use
May have secondary market output
 Other non-market producers:
Major part of output is provided free or at prices that are not economically significant
Enterprises can be classified as market and non-market producers. Market production is profit oriented and the goods or services attract economically significant prices to recover costs and make profit. Non-market production on the other hand generates output that is provided for free or at prices that are insignificant.

12. Institutional Sectors
Grouping of institutional units according to primary function and economic behavior
[SNA2008, Chapter 4]
In the SNA, institutional units are classified into five main categories called institutional sectors. The classification is based on its objectives and behaviour in the economy.
a) Non-financial corporations sector; b) Financial corporations sector; c) General government sector; d) Households sector; e) Non-profit institutions serving households (NPISHs) sector.

13. Institutional Sectors
Government
Households
Units of central, state, and local government
Social security funds
Non-market NPIs controlled and mainly financed by government units
 Exclude public quasi-corporations
Resident Households:
Individual or groups that
Live together
Pool resources 
Supply labour, capital
Consume
Produce
General Government is made up of government units, which organize and finance the provision of non-market goods and services, both individual, such as health and education and collective, such as defence, police for households and community that are provided free or not at economically significant prices. This sector includes central government, provincial governments or state authorities, local authorities and the social security funds. Its main functions are production of non-market services (education, health care, defence, policing, etc.) and redistribution of income (taxation and providing subsidies and social benefits).
A household is an institutional unit composed of persons or group of persons with common arrangement for food and shelter while pooling their income. The sector includes all resident household units as consumers and also all the unincorporated enterprises (not classified as corporation or quasi corporation) owned by them. Unincorporated enterprises, which are owned by households but have complete business accounts, are classified as quasi-corporations in the corporations sector.

14. Institutional Sectors
Non-Profit Institutions Serving Households
Non-profit institutions (in a legal sense):
Producers of goods and services
Cannot be a source of income or profit to those who own or control them
 Financed by
Government transfers
Membership fees
Grants
Non-profit institutions are legal or social entities created to provide goods and services to other institutional units, whose status does not permit them to create income, profit or financial gains for those who control and finance them. The NPISHs are only those non-government NPIs (not controlled by the government) that serve households and produce non-market goods and services for households’ consumption without charges or at prices not economically significant.
NPISHs are principally engaged in production of non‑market services for households and their main resources are voluntary contribution of households and other institutions. Examples: Religious institutions like temples, shires, mosques, churches, charitable organisations providing free education, health and cultural services like Red Cross, trust-run educational institutions, local sporting and cultural clubs run on donations and contributions.

15. Are Institutional Sectors Informal? Next Presentation

16. Issues for Discussion
What is the size of the informal Sector in your GDP? Do you think the informal sector is overestimated or underestimated?
What methods do you apply in estimating the informal sector in GDP? Any specific indicators?
Can you assess the various estimation methods? Which one can improve accuracy?