Parallel session IARIW 2014

1. GALLO GUEYE AND JENS GRUETZ:
ISSUES RELATED TO THE
INTRODUCTION OF ESA 2010 IN
EUROPE
IARIW-conference, August 24 – 30, 2014
Session 7D
Discussant:
Peter van de Ven
Head of National Accounts, OECD

2. Overview of the paper
• Main methodological changes:
– Capitalisation of R&D
– Military expenditures on weapon systems
– Goods for processing
– Pension entitlements
– Output of non-life insurance
• Actions to facilitate the implementation:
– Additional manuals (changes, processing, R&D, and
price/volume split)
– Training
– Communication
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3. Overview of the paper (cont.)
• Main challenges:
– Benchmark revisions
– Head offices versus holding companies
– Service life of R&D-investments
– Illegal activities
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4. Discussion
• I would have preferred, if the paper had gone into more
depth and detail, and also discuss further work, and
would “question” the standards in view of recent
experience
• In EU, NA are used for “administrative purposes”:
– Do you consider this, on balance, as an advantage or
as a disadvantage?
– What do you consider as the main pros and cons?
• “The supplementary table (on pension entitlements) will
provide a powerful tool for economic analysis of
households’ pension wealth across countries.”
=> But why then such a restrictive approach?
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5. Discussion
• Some implementation issues are mentioned, among
which head offices versus holding companies: with
hindsight, would you still prefer to treat all holding
companies as financial corporations?
• More generally, what would you consider as the main
challenges for the future, both within the boundaries of
the present standards, and going beyond them?
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6. Thank you for your attention!
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7. Thank you for your attention!
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