| I.
INTRODUCTION
1. The implementation of the 1993 System of
National Accounts (SNA) has been one of the
major thrusts of technical assistance to the
countries in the ESCAP Region. The September
1994 workshops on the System of National Accounts
held in Canberra, Australia for Pacific countries
and in Bangkok for Asian countries set in train
various activities on the implementation of
the 1993 SNA. The International Monetary Fund
(IMF), the Statistical Institute for Asia and
the Pacific (SIAP) and other institutions conducted
international, regional and in-country training
courses on the 1993 SNA. ESCAP, through the
advisory services on national accounts, has
likewise conducted in-country
training courses on the 1993 SNA independently
or in conjunction with the United Nations Statistics
Division (UNSD) and the Asian Development Bank
(ADB) and has helped the countries to implement
the recommendations of the 1993 SNA. Similarly,
seminars and workshops were conducted to provide
forums for countries to discuss issues and to
share their experiences on the implementation
of the 1993 SNA. Multilateral and bilateral
agencies were also active in providing technical
assistance on the implementation of the 1993
SNA.
2. The Joint OECD/ESCAP Meeting on National
Accounts: The 1993 SNA, Five Years On
- held in Bangkok from 4 to 8 May 1998 - was
attended by both OECD and non-OECD member countries
of ESCAP, and some OECD member countries outside
the ESCAP region. The meeting discussed key
conceptual and methodological issues and how
the countries, which were in the process of
implementing the 1993 SNA, dealt with these
issues. The topics included FISIM (financial
intermediation services indirectly measured),
capital assets, chain volume measures, user
education, etc. It was hoped that the experiences
of the countries would help other countries
in their effort to implement the 1993 SNA.
II.
IMPLEMENTATION OF THE 1993 SNA
A.
Milestone Criteria for Monitoring Implementation
of the 1993 SNA
3. The First Workshop on the 1993 SNA, sponsored
by ESCAP and UNSD in Bangkok from 12 to 23 October
1998, provided the venue to share the experiences
of 17 developing member countries of the ESCAP
region on the implementation of the 1993 SNA.
Most of the countries were measuring their efforts
to implement the 1993 SNA against the milestones
recommended by the Intersecretariat Working
Group on National Accounts and adopted by the
United Nations Statistical Commission in 1997.
The 'milestones' consisted essentially of the
compilation of various data sets of national
accounts statistics, as reported to UNSD.
The workshop discussed some of the conceptual
and methodological recommendations of the 1993
SNA and the issues that the countries encountered
in trying to implement them and in compiling
the institutional sector accounts. The
key issues and problems raised were:
- Difficulty in the treatment
of new transactions introduced in the 1993
SNA because of data gaps, which could not
be filled due to resource constraints in the
countries;
- Difficulty of linking the
enterprise with the establishment frame used
by the statistical office for surveys of economic
activities; this made linking GDP with institutional
sector accounts problematic;
- Difficulties in classification
of activities and institutions, especially
non- profit institutions which undertook market
activities;
- Low priority given by decision-makers
to the 1993 SNA, and inconsistent organizational
structure of national accounts units for efficient
implementation of the 1993 SNA.
4. The same workshop agreed that:
- Countries would pursue
the implementation of the 1993 SNA based on
the milestones;
- Countries would release
estimates based on the 1993 SNA after the
series had been available for a few
years;
- Existing series would continue
to be released in parallel with the estimates
using the 1993 SNA;
- Establishment and enterprise
data would be reconciled in the development
of business registries;
- NPISH (non-profit institutions
serving households) would remain integrated
in the household sector until classification
issues were resolved and data were available;
- Illegal activities would
be incorporated in the compilation only in
as far as data would allow;
- FISIM would be estimated
based on the recommendations of the 1993 SNA,
with some modifications;
- Valuables and intangible
assets would be covered in the implementation;
the treatment of cultivated assets and livestock
as additions to assets would need further
study;
- Financial derivatives and
other value changes still needed further study
and chain-based price estimation would be
done on a trial basis.
5. The October 1998 workshop recommended several
approaches to facilitate the implementation
of the 1993 SNA; the key recommendations were:
- Generate more interest among
policy makers, general users, academicians,
data producers and other potential users through
advocacy and user education;
- Train data producers, compilers
and users on the 1993 SNA concepts and interpretations;
- Maximize the use of inexpensive
alternative data sources;
- Foster partnership with
other agencies and institutions in the implementation
of the 1993 SNA; and
- Maximize the assistance
to be provided by bilateral and multilateral
agencies in activities related to 1993 SNA
implementation; and
- Publication of special
studies related to the implementation of the
1993 SNA.
6. A regional strategy to implement the 1993
SNA was agreed upon during the workshop.
The major approaches agreed upon were:
- Conduct special studies
by countries on some of the conceptual and
methodological recommendations of the 1993
SNA;
- Conduct regional training
and workshops;
- Formulate a regional implementation
manual;
- Provide technical assistance
on the 1993 SNA;
- Complete quarterly and
regional estimates of GDP and flow-of-funds
and input-output tables; and
- Establish information exchange
with ESCAP as the focal point, and organize
exchange visits of technicians and experts.
7. The recommendations and strategies were
adopted to a great extent through the activities
of ESCAP and through the country and regional
technical assistance programme, in particular
by the ADB. ESCAP, UNSD and the Secretariat
of the Pacific Community (SPC) collaborated
in most of the technical assistance projects
implemented by ADB in Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia,
Maldives, Federated States of Micronesia, Mongolia,
Nepal, Philippines, and Viet Nam. ESCAP
also collaborated with the ADB regional technical
assistance projects on rebasing and linking
national accounts series at constant prices
and on business tendency surveys and leading
indicators. The latter was done in conjunction
with OECD. Agencies such as the Australian
Agency for International Assistance (AUSAID),
Swedish International Development Agency (SIDA),
Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA),
the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World
Bank and the Netherlands Government provided
technical assistance on national accounts for
some Pacific countries, as well as for China,
Lao People's Democratic Republic, Malaysia,
Mongolia, Pakistan, Thailand, and Viet
Nam. Starting in the year 2000 UNSD, under
the Development Account of the United Nations,
has implemented a project entitled Strengthening
Regional Capacities for Statistical Development
in South-East Asia. The aim of the project
is to improve capacity of the ASEAN countries
in statistics, and it places some emphasis on
the compilation of national accounts.
8. Similarly, the European Union provided a
comprehensive statistical assistance programme
for the North and Central Asian member countries
under the programme of Technical Assistance
for the Commonwealth of Independent States and
Mongolia (TACIS). One of the major areas of
capacity building under the TACIS was the implementation
of the 1993 SNA. With the introduction of the
1993 SNA, data collection activities were designed
to be consistent with its conceptual recommendations.
This facilitated the shift from the Material
Product System to the 1993 SNA.
9. The ESCAP region has found difficulty in
the implementation of the 1993 SNA for various
reasons. Some countries which have partly
implemented the 1968 SNA were faced with difficulty
in adopting some of the conceptual and methodological
recommendations, particularly if those recommendations
required new data collection activity. They
also encountered difficulty in compiling the
integrated economic accounts of institutional
sectors because of resource constraints. In
contrast, the countries in transition have implemented
most of the conceptual and methodological recommendations
and the institutional sector accounts.
10. Other countries, which have started the
compilation of GDP either by the production
or expenditure approach, have expressed reservations
in introducing changes to some of the conceptual
and methodological recommendations of the 1993
SNA because of the implications for the resulting
change in GDP estimates. Moreover, with the
current emphasis on the Special Data Dissemination
Standard (SDDS) and the General Data Dissemination
System (GDDS) and the quarterly monitoring of
the economy by the IMF, countries are more interested
in compiling quarterly GDP instead of implementing
the conceptual and methodological recommendations
and compiling the institutional sector accounts.
B.
Revised Criteria for Monitoring the Implementation
of the 1993 SNA
11. The 32nd session of the United
Nations Statistical Commission in March 2001
endorsed a revised implementation approach recommended
by the Intersecretariat Working Group on National
Accounts (ISWGNA) for the assessment of 1993
SNA implementation. It consists of three
dimensions: 1) scope of the accounts, 2) conceptual
compliance and 3) quality. On the scope of the
accounts, data sets are grouped into: a) minimum
requirement, b) recommended, c) desirable, and
d) other data sets which would count in assessing
the degree of 1993 SNA implementation. The Statistical
Commission also recognized that for the time
being, the United Nations Statistics Division
would give consideration to the first data set.
After 2003, UNSD would conduct an assessment
of the second data set.
12. The conceptual recommendations of the 1993
SNA cover the expansion of the production boundary
and asset boundary, change in treatment of some
transactions, use of chain volume measures,
etc. On the scope of the accounts, the following
are included in the "minimum requirement" data
set: GDP at current and constant prices by production
and expenditure approach, value added by industry
at current prices, employment by industry, accounts
of the total economy, and rest of the world
transactions up to net lending. The "recommended
data set" includes: quarterly GDP at current
and constant prices by production and expenditure,
quarterly accounts for the total economy, cross
classification of output/value added by industries
and sector, supply and use tables, general government
consumption expenditure by purpose in current
prices, individual consumption expenditure by
purpose in current prices, quarterly rest of
the world account, financial corporation accounts
up to net lending and general government sector
account up to net lending. Value added by industry
at constant prices and quarterly supply and
use tables are the two sets included under the
"desirable data set". The remaining data sets
recommended in the 1993 SNA are classified under
"other data sets which would count in assessing
the degree of 1993 SNA implementation".
13. The new sets of recommendations for the
implementation of the 1993 SNA were discussed
at the Workshop conducted under the UNSD ASEAN
project organized jointly by ADB, ESCAP, UNSD
and the National Statistical Coordination Board
(NSCB) in Tagaytay City, Philippines from 7
to 10 May 2001. In addition to ASEAN countries,
there was participation from Australia; Hong
Kong, China; Japan; Maldives, and Nepal.
For the Pacific countries ESCAP conducted the
Subregional Workshop on the 1993 SNA in collaboration
with SPC, ADB, the Pacific Financial Technical
Assistance Centre (PFTAC) and SIAP, from 3 to
7 September 2001 in Nadi, Fiji. Ten member countries
of the Pacific attended the workshop; Australia
and New Zealand provided resource persons.
14. One of the issues raised at the Tagaytay
workshop among the countries with long traditions
of national accounts compilation was their inability,
due to lack of resources, to implement the conceptual
and methodological recommendations of the 1993
SNA all at once. Gradual implementation
would be feasible but the implication might
be undesirable, as changes in growth rate of
GDP would be misrepresented. Moreover, the countries
expressed their apprehension on how to deal
with users when implementation would result
in drastic changes in the levels and structure
of the GDP, to the extent of possibly changing
the economic history of the country. Other issues
and conclusions of the workshop were:
- Difficulty in implementing
the recommended treatment of cultivated assets
- the workshop agreed that for the time
being output of cultivated assets would only
be recorded at the time of harvest;
- Inclusion of illegal activity
- the workshop recommended that illegal activity
will be captured only in as far as the basic
data allows;
- Difficulty in capturing
information technology - the workshop suggested
that ISIC should be revised to effectively
capture information technology in basic data;
- Difficulty for some countries
where military expenditure data are restricted
in segregating capital expenditure and current
expenditure - the workshop suggested that
all efforts should be exerted to implement
the change;
- Difficulty in including
consumption of fixed capital (CFC) for public
infrastructure such as roads, bridges, piers,
installations, etc.; public infrastructure
which was within the jurisdiction of public
corporations was included but that by general
government was not - the workshop suggested
that best practices in estimating CFC could
be disseminated to the countries to serve
as reference;
- Adoption of chain volume
measures; countries which implemented chain
volume measures revealed the usefulness of
the series and the positive reactions of users
who were adequately informed of the change
and the usefulness of the estimates - the
workshop suggested that countries shift to
chain volume measures or rebase every five
years;
- Change of time series -
the workshop suggested that the countries
should work backwards to have at least a ten-year
series of national accounts statistics based
on the 1993 SNA; and
- Competing demands for quarterly
and regional (subnational) accounts - the
workshop suggested that this matter was to
be left to each country to determine priorities.
15. Most countries expressed ability to compile
the minimum requirement data set although the
conceptual and methodological recommendations
could be adopted only partially. Guidance would
be needed on what conceptual recommendations
would be given high priority in the implementation
of the 1993 SNA. The workshop likewise suggested
that the formation of an association of national
accounts compilers in the region would be beneficial
in providing opportunities for exchange of ideas
and information. It was suggested that the Philippines
draft the by-laws and that NSCB and ESCAP serve
as the secretariat.
16. The Fiji workshop highlighted the problem
of sustainability in the compilation of GDP
estimates where the work was initiated through
technical assistance. The GDP estimates compiled
by consultants with the assistance of local
staff were often discontinued after the completion
of the technical cooperation project.
A new set of estimates would be compiled
through another project. Those countries that
have continued the compilation have focused
only on the compilation of GDP by the production
approach; there was no way to validate the estimates
with another set of independently derived estimates
of GDP by expenditure. The following problems
were cited as the reasons for the inability
of the countries to sustain the compilation:
- Lack of financial resources
to continue the surveys and other data collection
mechanisms established during the technical
assistance project;
- Inadequate transfer
of skills from the technical assistance because
of the competing objectives of capacity building
and generation of estimates for the duration
of the project;
- Lack of personnel with
capacity and confidence to continue the compilation;
with a very small base of statistical personnel,
turnover of trained staff adversely affected
the compilation of the accounts; and
- Indifferent leadership
in statistical services and lack of appreciation
of national accounts statistics among government
decision makers.
17. The other problems raised in the compilation
of the SNA included: lack of resources and capability
to conduct surveys; weakness of data from foreign
trade and other external transactions; lack
of appropriate price indices for constant price
estimation; difficulties of measuring government
output; and low priority given by government.
18. The recommendations and follow-up actions
raised during the Fiji workshop included the
following:
- The classification system
proposed for national accounts compilation
will be adopted but country needs would be
given priority;
- Illegal transactions will
be captured only if they are captured in basic
data;
- Fishing licences, a major
source of government item, will be treated
as property income;
- Statisticians should be
trained to be multi-skilled and more staff
should be trained from statistical and other
offices of the country; attachments of technical
national accounts staff to relatively more
developed countries in the Pacific should
be encouraged;
- The use of administrative-based
data for compilation should be maximized,
while GDP by expenditure should continue to
be compiled with private consumption expenditure
estimated independently;
- Consultation should be
increased among data source agencies, national
accounts compilers and users of national accounts;
- High priority should be
given to documentation of data sources and
estimation methodology and the formulation
of national accounts improvement programmes;
and
- Coordination among donor
agencies in providing technical assistance
to the Pacific island countries should be
ensured.
C.
Status of Implementation as of August 2000
19. The survey conducted by ESCAP on the compilation
of national accounts statistics and the implementation
of the 1993 SNA as of August 2000 was
responded to by 32 out of 57 members and associate
members. The breakdown is shown in the table
below:
| ESCAP Subregion |
Membership
|
Responses |
Percentage |
| East and North-East Asia |
7
|
5 |
71.4 |
| South-East Asia |
10 |
6 |
60.0 |
| South and South-West Asia |
10 |
6 |
60.0 |
| North and Central Asia |
9 |
7 |
77.8 |
| Pacific |
21 |
8 |
38.1 |
| Total |
57 |
32 |
56.1 |
20. The questionnaire asked about available
series on GDP estimates, GNI, GDI, value added
by industry, private and general government
consumption expenditure, capital formation by
type of capital asset, national accounts tables
compiled, conceptual and methodological recommendations
of the 1993 SNA, and the current programme of
improvement and compilation of accounts.
21. The results of the survey indicated
that all the countries compiled GDP by economic
activity but only 25 compiled GDP by expenditure
and only 19 had GDP by income. Eight countries,
mostly from North and Central Asia, have adopted
chain volume measures, while some other countries
were using outdated base years. Out of the 32
countries compiling GDP by the production approach,
26 indicated they also compiled gross value
added by economic activity. 15 out of the 32
countries compiled quarterly GDP by economic
activity and expenditure. Among the subregions,
North and Central Asia was ahead in the implementation
of the conceptual and methodological approaches
and in the compilation of institutional sector
accounts according to the recommendations of
the 1993 SNA. Outside of North and Central Asia,
two countries have completed implementation
of 1993 SNA with some modifications.
22. All the countries were currently undertaking
activities to improve the quality of the estimates
and to adopt the recommendations of the 1993
SNA. Many of the countries are undertaking
activities such as improving business registers,
conducting special surveys, processing administrative
data, undertaking special studies to derive
estimation parameters, and improving existing
methodology.
23. Types of technical assistance needed
that were cited by the responding countries
were: training on compilation based on the 1993
SNA, help in improvement of basic data input,
use of software for compilation, and assistance
in compiling quarterly national accounts.
III.
PROPOSED PLAN OF ACTION
A.
Objectives and Targets
24. The objective of the proposed action plan
is to assist the countries in the compilation
and dissemination of timely, accurate, reliable,
and internationally comparable national accounts
statistics relevant to their needs and consistent
with the recommendations of the 1993 SNA. The
developing member countries of East and North-East
Asia, South-East Asia, South and South-West
Asia and the Pacific will receive priority in
the Plan of Action.
25. The target is for the countries to meet
the implementation criteria endorsed by the
Statistical Commission covering the scope of
the accounts, conceptual compliance, and quality.
Within the period 2002-2005, the following are
the expected outcomes:
| Expected
Outcome |
Period |
Target
countries |
| At least 50
% of conceptual recommendations adhered
to |
2002-2005 |
Countries which
have not implemented at least 50 % of conceptual
recommendations |
| GDP by expenditure
compiled and other minimum data requirements
met |
2002-2003 |
Pacific island
countries, two countries in South-East Asia,
one country in South Asia, other countries
without value added by industry, accounts
of the total economy, or rest of the world
accounts |
| Updated base
year or chain-based annual GDP estimates |
2002-2005 |
All countries
with base year prior to 1995 |
| Release calendar
for annual and quarterly GDP with metadata
prepared and implemented |
2002-2005 |
All countries
that release national accounts statistics |
| Quarterly GDP
compiled |
2002-2005 |
Selected countries
in the Pacific, 2 countries in East and
North-East Asia, three countries in South-East
Asia, 4 countries in South Asia, one country
in Central Asia |
| All the other
recommended data sets compiled |
2004-2005 |
All countries
that have not completed the recommended
data sets. |
B.
Opportunities and Challenges
26. There are several opportunities and facilitating
factors in the region that could contribute
to the achievement of the targets. These are:
- The demand raised by international
agencies and national policy makers for reliable
and timely national accounts statistics;
- The realization that improved
national accounts statistics enhance the quality
of poverty measurement, purchasing power parities
and numerous other policy-relevant data systems;
- The availability of national
accounts and other statistics experts in the
region who could provide assistance to the
countries on the compilation of national accounts
and the generation of basic data;
- The presence of multilateral
and bilateral institutions which actively
provide technical assistance in statistics
on a regional or country basis; in particular
ADB, AUSAID, SIDA, PFTAC, SPC, IMF, World
Bank, UNSD, SIAP and ESCAP;
- The availability of manuals,
guidebooks and software that could be used
by national accounts compilers; and
- The strong linkage of the
Statistics Division and the Committee on Statistics
of ESCAP with multilateral agencies and national
statistical offices as well as ESCAP's inherent
convening role in the region.
27. On the other hand, there are challenges
and constraining factors that could hinder the
accomplishment of the targets within the scheduled
time frame. The most critical are:
- Inadequate personnel in
national accounts units of the countries to
undertake compilation, and fast turnover of
staff with national accounts training;
- Possible replacement of
the post of ESCAP Regional Adviser on National
Accounts with a Regional Adviser on Poverty
Statistics;
- Lack of expertise and financial
resources in many countries to conduct key
periodic surveys and thus collect basic data
for national accounts compilation; and
- Resistance among users
to accept changes that will disrupt time series.
C.
Strategies and Activities
28. The strategy that the action plan proposes
is to maximize the opportunities and to find
ways to minimize the constraints in meeting
the targeted outcomes. To ensure that there
would be convergence and coordination of all
the activities of multilateral, bilateral and
national activities designed to improve the
capacity of the countries on the implementation
of national accounts, they would be encouraged
to inform the Committee on Statistics through
the ESCAP secretariat of their respective activities.
This would be fully in line with the Committee's
role as the focus of regional statistical development.
29. To help countries to implement the concepts
and methodological recommendations of the 1993
SNA, a regional project will be conducted.
The project will consist of an initial regional
workshop to discuss the issues and identify
special country studies on specific conceptual
and methodological issues. The results of the
studies would be reported in a second seminar/workshop
aimed at identifying best practices on operationalizing
the suggested concepts and methodological approaches
given the resources and capacities of countries.
ESCAP and UNSD can provide the lead in this
activity with the assistance of some countries
in the region.
30. Training would be pursued continuously
with emphasis on hands-on experiences in compilation.
This could be done by specially designed practical
training courses for compilers to understand
the concepts and methodology through actual
estimation. SIAP, ESCAP and UNSD could develop
the materials and undertake in-country training
in the target countries.
31. Another approach would be by attachment
with national accounts units in countries with
a similar statistical environment but which
have established a good system of compilation.
ESCAP, PFTAC, and SPC can support and coordinate
the attachment and evaluate the outcome. This
approach, which has been used by ADB in its
various technical assistance projects, can be
replicated for other countries.
32. Workshops would be conducted to share the
experiences of countries in compilation methods
for benchmark and non-benchmark years as well
as in the generation of data from alternative
sources including administrative-based sources.
The same workshops will discuss quality aspects
including preparation of metadata and release
calendars. ESCAP and UNSD would collaborate
in undertaking the activity.
33. In addition, in-country training
for data producers and users on the concepts
and interpretation of national accounts statistics
and their role in improving the quality and
usefulness of national accounts statistics should
be pursued. This should be incorporated in country
technical assistance projects of ADB and other
donor agencies. SIAP, ESCAP and UNSD, with assistance
from countries, could develop the instruction
materials for this type of training.
34. A core of experts would be identified
who would provide advisory services/technical
assistance to the countries on specific areas
in national accounts compilation and in data
collection activities for compilation.
Building on existing rosters, ESCAP would prepare
this list with the assistance of the countries
and distribute it to multilateral and bilateral
agencies as well as the individual countries.
ADB, ESCAP, IMF and other agencies providing
technical assistance to the countries would
be encouraged to avail of the services of these
experts in providing advisory services or technical
assistance to the countries.
35. Regional and country technical assistance
projects will be designed. The technical assistance
will prioritize countries which have not met
the minimum data requirements. It will focus
on building the capacities of the countries
to enable them to complete the minimum required
data sets, and, importantly, to sustain their
compilation after the completion of the technical
assistance project. The technical assistance,
particularly for countries with limited survey
capabilities, could emphasize the use of alternative
data sources including administrative-based
data from government. ADB, ESCAP, and SPC will
ensure collaboration among the agencies in the
implementation of the assistance projects.
36. The approach developed by ADB for
the regional technical assistance project on
rebasing and linking national accounts series
at constant prices was found effective and could
be replicated in similar regional projects related
to national accounts. Following an inception
workshop, the countries were given modest funding
to undertake follow-up activities, and the results
of these were presented in a concluding workshop.
D.
Monitoring and Evaluation
37. It is intended that the ESCAP Committee
on Statistics will be informed of the status
of implementation of the action plan during
its scheduled meetings in 2002, 2004 and 2006.
The ESCAP secretariat, together with UNSD and
in collaboration with selected countries, will
design monitoring and evaluation instruments
that will provide information on the outcome
of the activities of the action plan and the
status of implementation of the 1993 SNA in
the region. The countries and all other
stakeholders concerned would be enjoined to
cooperate.
IV.
CONCLUDING REMARKS
38. The successful implementation of the action
plan hinges on (a) the determination of the
countries to generate national accounts statistics
which are timely, internationally comparable,
of good quality, and relevant to their needs;
and (b) on the full cooperation of multilateral
and bilateral institutions providing technical
assistance in national accounts to the ESCAP
region.
39. The advice of the Working Group of Statistical
Experts is requested on the expected outcomes
and the strategies of implementation, so that
the proposed action plan can be refined. In
particular, the Working Group's responses
are sought to the following questions:
- Are the targets realistically
achievable by the region?
- What other approaches or
mechanisms should be considered for the successful
implementation of the action plan?
- While ESCAP is viewed as
the regional coordinator of the action plan,
should there be subregional coordinators to
monitor and evaluate the implementation of
their respective subregions?
- What would be the role
of the countries in the regular monitoring
of the implementation?
- Would the countries agree
to dissemination of an individual country's
status of national accounts compilation?
- What other recommendations
does the Working Group of Statistical Experts
wish to incorporate in the action plan?
- Is the Working Group willing
to endorse the Proposed Action Plan on the
Implementation of the 1993 SNA in the ESCAP
region, with whatever amendments are proposed?
and finally,
- How would the programme
be financed?
40. In this latter regard, and as touched on
earlier in this paper, there are already existing
and pipeline projects with some degree of
consistency with the objective and strategies
of the proposed action plan. These include both
country-specific assistance and subregional
technical assistance projects. Although ESCAP
is not a funding agency, modest amounts from
the regular programme of technical cooperation
(Section 21 of the United Nations regular budget)
can be made available to fund some of the activities
mentioned in the action plan. Further, especially
if additional human resources are available
to manage it effectively, the secretariat could
prepare and submit a project for possible funding
by the Development Account (Section 33 of the
United Nations regular budget). However,
to ensure that the target outcome would be achieved
within the time frame additional resources would
still be needed. It would seem important to
engage all multilateral and bilateral donors
mentioned earlier, and if possible others with
a view to coordinating activities and maximizing
impact. The Working Group of Statistical Experts
may wish to suggest strategies for the necessary
resource mobilization.
Annex
I
REGIONAL WORKSHOPS/SEMINARS
ON NATIONAL ACCOUNTS AND RELATED AREAS 1994-2001
|
Date
|
Title
|
Venue |
Conducted
jointly with |
No. of
participants |
| 5-16 Sept.
1994 |
Pacific Seminar on the
1993 System of National Accounts |
Canberra |
ABS, ADB,
UNSD |
31 |
| 20-30 Sept.
1994 |
Asian Seminar on the 1993
System of National Accounts |
Bangkok |
ADB, UNSD |
85 |
| 16-20 Oct.
1995 |
Workshop on the Review
of 1993 International Comparison Programme
Data |
Bangkok |
Japan, World
Bank |
43 |
| 6-10 Nov.
1995 |
Seminar on Statistics
on Trade in Services |
Bangkok |
IMF, OECD,
Republic of Korea, WTO |
50 |
| 8-12 July
1996 |
Seminar/Workshop on the
Special Data Dissemination Standard |
Bangkok |
IMF |
44 |
|
12-16 May 1997
|
UNSD/ESCAP/ILO Workshop
on Statistics on the Informal Sector |
Bangkok |
ILO, UNSD |
51 |
| 16-20 June
1997 |
Seminar on the Use of
ICP Data |
Beijing |
ADB, China,
Japan, World Bank |
67 |
| 4-8 May 1998 |
Joint OECD/ESCAP Meeting
on National Accounts: The 1993 SNA, Five
Years On |
Bangkok |
OECD |
80 |
| 12-23 Oct.
1998 |
First Workshop on the
Implementation of the 1993 System of National
Accounts |
Bangkok |
ADB, the
Netherlands, UNSD |
73 |
| 22-26 Mar.
1999 |
Training Seminar on International
Merchandise Trade Statistics for Countries
of the ESCAP Region |
Bangkok |
UNSD |
27 |
| 27 Sept.-
1 Oct. 1999 |
United Nations Workshop
on Classification |
Canberra |
ABS,
UNSD |
38
|
|
21-24 Mar. 2000 |
ADB/ESCAP
Inception Workshop on Rebasing and Linking
National Accounts Series (RETA 5874) |
Bangkok |
ADB |
53 |
| 22-25 May
2000 |
Joint OECD/ESCAP Workshop
on Key Economic Indicators |
Bangkok |
OECD |
68 |
| 18-22 Sept.
2000 |
International Workshop
on Environment and Economic Accounting |
Manila |
NSCB,
UNDP, UNSD |
79 |
| 21-24 Nov.
2000 |
ADB/OECD/ESCAP Workshop
on Harmonizing and Strengthening Business
Tendency Survey |
Bangkok |
ADB,
OECD |
51 |
| 13-16 Feb.
2001 |
ADB/ESCAP Concluding Workshop
on Rebasing and Linking of National Accounts
Series (RETA 5874) |
Bangkok |
ADB |
34 |
| 7-11 May
2001 |
Interregional Workshop
on the Implementation of 1993 SNA |
Tagaytay |
ADB,
NSCB, UNSD |
40 |
| 6-10
Aug. 2001 |
Workshop on the Development
of ASEAN Short-Term Indicators |
Bangkok |
ASEAN,
UNSD |
41 |
| 3-7 Sept.
2001 |
Subregional Workshop on
the 1993 System of National Accounts |
Nadi |
ADB,
PFTAC, SIAP, SNZ, SPC |
25
|
| 8-12 Oct.
2001 |
UNSD/ESCAP Asian Workshop
on Trade Statistics |
Bangkok |
UNSD |
17 |
| 22-26 Oct.
2001 |
Joint OECD/ADB/ESCAP Workshop
on Leading Indicators and Business Tendency
Surveys |
Bangkok |
ADB,
OECD |
34 |
| 12-16 Nov.
2001 |
UNSD/ESCAP Pacific Workshop
on Trade Statistics |
Port Vila |
UNSD |
16 |
Annex
II
ESCAP IN-COUNTRY TRAINING
COURSES
| Date |
Title |
Venue |
Conducted jointly with |
| 8-17 Apr. 1998 |
In-country training course
on the Implementation of 1993 SNA |
Brunei Darussalam |
|
| 18-29 May 1998 |
In-country training course
on the Implementation of 1993 SNA |
Thailand (NESDB) |
|
| 20 July-14 Aug. 1998 |
In-country training course
on the Implementation of 1993 SNA |
Philippines |
ADB, UNSD |
| 5-23 Sept. 1998 |
In-country training course
on the Implementation of 1993 SNA |
Bangladesh |
ADB |
| 27 Sept.-8 Oct. 198 |
In-country training course
on the Implementation of 1993 SNA |
Iran |
|
| 27 Sept.- 8 Oct. 1999 |
In-country training course
on the Implementation of 1993 SNA |
Cambodia |
UNSD |
| 10-23 Oct. 1999 |
In-country training course
on the Implementation of 1993 SNA |
Viet Nam |
UNSD |
| 1-12 Nov. 1999 |
In-country training course
on the Implementation of 1993 SNA |
Lao PDR |
UNSD |
| 8-19 Nov. 1999 |
In-country training course
on the Implementation of 1993 SNA |
Myanmar |
UNSD |
| 1-28 Oct. 2000 |
In-country training course
on the Implementation of 1993 SNA |
Maldives |
|
| 20 Jan.-3 Feb. 2001 |
In-country training course
on the Implementation of 1993 SNA |
FSM |
ADB |
| 8-19 Jan., 6-15 Feb. 2001 |
In-country training course
on the Implementation of 1993 SNA |
Thailand, NSO |
|
|
