The national income and product accounts and the system of national accounts 2008; comparison and research plans

The Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) and other US statistical agencies have acted on many fronts to improve the economic statistics available to policymakers and economic researchers. These efforts include initiatives to improve the framework of the national accounts and make it more relevant to today's technology-driven and globalizing economy, such as the integration of the national income and product accounts (NIPA) with the financial accounts and balance sheets produced by the Federal Reserve Board and the continued harmonization of the NIPAs with the recommendations put forth in the international guidelines for national economic accounts, the System of National Accounts 2008 (SNA). The first section of this article provides an overview of the SNA's framework and sectors. The second describes the research currently underway or planned by BEA to address differences between the SNA and the NIPAs. The third reviews other differences for which no research is currently planned and for which no adjustments are made to the SNA-based estimates provided to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Adapted from the source document.