Preview of the 2009 comprehensive revision of the NIPAs: changes in definitions and presentations

The third of a series on the aspects of the upcoming comprehensive revision of the national income and product accounts is presented. Comprehensive revisions and the future "flexible" annual revisions provide the opportunity to introduce major changes that are outlined in Bureau of Economic Analysis' (BEA) strategic plan for maintaining and improving its economic accounts. In discussing the national accounts, BEA's strategic plan outlines several major objectives, including addressing data gaps and other shortcomings, improving consistency and integration with other accounts, and improving consistency with international guidelines. In this article, each change in definition is described, the reason for the change is given, the current treatment and the new treatment are outlined, and when noteworthy, the detailed effects on the seven summary accounts are provided. In addition, descriptions of the major changes resulting from the changes in treatment are provided.