5256.0 - Australian National Accounts: Non-Profit Institutions Satellite Account, 2006-07
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 18/09/2009
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APPENDIX 4 CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK
Each of these institutional sectors is made up of individual units capable of engaging in economic activities and transactions with other units, including non-residents. NPI units are concentrated in the NPISH sector but may also be included in other sectors. The table below shows the composition and structure of institutional units recommended in the SNA93.
* The Standard Economic Sector Classifications of Australia (cat. no.1218.0) states the following with regard to government controlled NPIs: 3.6 "....Although it is theoretically possible for NPIs to be controlled by government units, this does not occur in Australia and is not discussed in this publication." Institutional units can be engaged in market and non market production, and this affects the sector of the economy to which they are allocated in the national accounts. According to the Standard Economic Sector Classifications of Australia (cat. no.1218.0), market and non-market operators are defined as follows: 3.19 "...Market operators are units which respond to market forces. Market operators make decisions about what to produce and how much to produce in response to expected levels of demand and expected costs of supply and are exposed to the risks associated with this production. Market operators adjust supply either with the goal of making a profit in the long run or, at a minimum, covering capital and other costs." 3.21 "...Non-market operators are not likely to respond to changes in economic conditions in the same way as market operators. Their economic behaviour is influenced by the receipt of material financial support in the form of transfers such as grants and donations." NPIs defined as market operators are classified to either the Non financial or Financial corporations sectors. Examples of market NPIs include business and professional associations. NPIs defined as non market operators are classified to the NPISH sector. Examples of non market NPIs include churches and most welfare organisations. Australia implemented the majority of the recommendations of SNA93 in 1998. However, a decision was made to continue the existing practice of combining accounts for the household and NPISH sectors into a single sector pending the development of satisfactory data to allow a separate NPISH sector to be identified in the accounts. This satellite account is part of that development process. NON-PROFIT INSTITUTIONS Non-profit institutions are typically thought of as charities or community service organisations, but they are more than this. NPIs cover a wide range of activities and include organisations serving corporations as well as households. NPIs may be engaged in either market production or non market production, or a combination of both. SNA93 defines non-profit institutions in the following terms: '...NPIs are defined as being legal or social entities created for the purpose of producing goods or services, whose status does not permit them to be a source of income, profit or other financial gain for the units that establish them.' (SNA93 4.54) Non-profit in the title does not mean that such institutions do not, or are not capable of making a profit in the generally accepted sense. '...In practice, their productive activities are bound to generate either surpluses or deficits but any surpluses they happen to make cannot be appropriated by other institutional units. The articles of association by which they are established are drawn up in such a way that the institutional units which control or manage them are not entitled to share in any profits or other income which they receive. For this reason, they are frequently exempted from various kinds of taxes.' (SNA93 4.54) SNA93 (4.56) describes the characteristics that distinguish NPIs from other institutional units. In summary, these include:
While it was considered that the SNA93 definition was broadly appropriate for NPIs, the Handbook provides a 'structural-operational' definition of NPIs which is the primary basis for the identification of NPI units on the ABS Business Register of organisations. The Handbook defines NPIs as entities that share the following set of five characteristics. The NPI sector consists of units that are:
These characteristics are complementary to the SNA93 description of NPIs, though the notion of 'non compulsory' is introduced for the first time. '...Non compulsory means that membership and contributions of time and money are not required or enforced by law or otherwise made a condition of citizenship' (Handbook, 2.19). While non-profit organisations can perform regulatory functions that make membership in them necessary in order to practice a profession, the organisation can still be considered non compulsory so long as membership is not a condition of citizenship. THE PRODUCTION BOUNDARY AND VALUATION OF NPI OUTPUT The first dimension of the NPI satellite account provides estimates of production consistent with the production boundary of the national accounts. For the purposes of the satellite account publication, this is referred to as measurement on a national accounts basis. The second dimension extends the boundary beyond that defined for national accounts to include values for the non market output of market producers and volunteer services. This extended dimension is referred to as measurement on an NPI satellite account basis. For market NPIs, valuation of the output of NPIs on a national accounts basis is consistent with the valuation method for incorporated and unincorporated enterprises more generally in the national accounts. It is the sum of:
The absence of a market price for non market services means that the output of non market NPIs is valued as the costs of production . These costs exclude interest payments and other transfers. Output for non market units is the sum of:
This valuation of non market NPIs is consistent with the convention adopted for the valuation of General government sector output, the other non-market sector in the national accounts. Although non market NPIs receive most of their income from sources such as transfers from government and donations, they may also receive revenue from sales of goods and services. If this were also included in the measure of output the value would be distorted by double counting. Once an NPI is defined as a non market producer because it provides most of its output free or at prices which are not economically significant, all output is then valued at cost. GROSS VALUE ADDED AND GDP NPI gross value added and NPI GDP are the major economic aggregates derived in this satellite account. Gross value added shows the value which a producer adds to the raw material goods and services it purchases in the process of producing its own output. NPI gross value added is measured as the value of the output of NPI goods and services less the value of the intermediate consumption inputs used in its production. As non market NPI output is valued at cost, gross value added for non market NPIs is also equivalent to the sum of labour costs, depreciation and other taxes less subsidies on production, e.g. land tax and payroll tax. Output and value added is measured at basic prices, that is before any net taxes (taxes paid less subsidies received) on products are added. NPI GDP measures the value added of NPIs at purchasers prices. It therefore includes taxes paid less subsidies received on NPI goods and services, as these are reflected in the prices consumers actually pay. NPI INCOME - TRANSFERS AND SALES NPIs receive income from market sales of goods and services, from governments, private sponsorships and donations and from other sources such as interest and dividends received on investments in financial assets. The satellite account makes a distinction between what is termed 'transfer income' and 'sales of goods and services'. Transfers are transactions in which one unit receives resources from another unit without providing a good or service in return. Receipts of donations, bequests, government funding which is not provided on a volume basis and income received from related or affiliated organisations are classified as transfers received. Sales of goods and services on the other hand are transactions where payment is received in return for a benefit provided. Sales income includes rent, leasing and hiring income, sponsorships, membership fees and government funding which is provided on a volume basis (e.g. per student, per patient). NON MARKET OUTPUT OF MARKET PRODUCERS The NPI satellite account extends the SNA93 production boundary beyond that which is usually measured in the national accounts. One such extension to the production boundary is the inclusion of a value for the non market output of market producers. The non market output of market producers measures that component of the output of market NPIs which is not captured when output of market units is valued under the standard SNA convention of valuation by sales. The Handbook argues that if such an adjustment is not made to value any non market output produced by market units, then the value of the output of market NPIs is understated as such units can produce significant amounts of output which are supported by charitable contributions or other transfers that is not evident in sales revenue. The non market output of market producers is valued as the difference between the output of market units when calculated by the standard SNA valuation method for non market units of cost summation, and output as calculated by the standard SNA method for market units of valuation by sales. Where output on a cost valuation basis exceeds output on a sales valuation basis, the difference is taken to be the non market output of market producers. Where output on a sales basis exceeds output on a cost basis, non market output of market producers is assumed to equal zero. VOLUNTEER SERVICES The second extension to the SNA93 production boundary which is seen in the NPI satellite account is the inclusion of a value for the services provided to NPIs by volunteers. SNA93 excludes all unpaid labour, including the value of volunteering. The Handbook recognises that as volunteer labour is critical to the output of NPIs and their ability to produce a level and quality of service, it is important to capture and value this activity in the NPI satellite account. The Handbook proposes three methods by which volunteer services can be valued. Each method involves assigning a wage rate to the total number of hours worked by volunteers. The first such valuation method mentioned in the Handbook is referred to as the "opportunity cost" approach. The notion behind this approach is that each hour of volunteer time should be valued at what the time is worth to the volunteer in some alternative pursuit. The applicable wage rate at which an hour of volunteer time is valued in this instance is therefore the wage rate associated with the usual occupation of the volunteer. The Handbook recognises that while theoretically desirable for some analytical purposes, this valuation approach is not often used. The ABS has considerable reservations as to the appropriateness of this valuation method, as it assumes that paid work is foregone in order to undertake voluntary work. Most workers, however, have limited choices in the hours they work and are more likely to be giving up leisure time for voluntary work. This being the case, the opportunity cost should not be based on the wage they receive in the market but on the value they place on leisure. Valuation of goods and services at market prices is fundamental to national accounting. In this context, two volunteers involved in identical unpaid activity should be valued at the same hourly rate irrespective of what they could each earn in their paid occupations. Additionally, this method raises the issue as to which is the appropriate wage rate to apply to those volunteers who do not have a usual occupation, for example those who are retired or unemployed or otherwise not in the labour force. The second valuation method proposed in the Handbook is the "replacement cost" or "market cost" approach. This approach recommends that each hour of volunteer time be valued at what it would cost the organisation to replace the volunteer with paid labour. The applicable wage rate at which an hour of volunteer time is valued in this instance relates to the particular activity being undertaken by the volunteer. While this method is preferred over the opportunity cost approach, the value of volunteer services may be under or over estimated using this approach depending on variations in the productivity of volunteers compared with labour provided to the market sector. The estimate of volunteer services included in this satellite account is based on this approach. The Handbook recognises that both the opportunity and replacement cost methods require more information on the activities in which volunteers engage than is likely to be available in most countries. Where detailed data on volunteering are not available, the Handbook recommends a fallback option which values each hour of volunteer time at the average gross wage for the community, welfare and social service occupation category. The Handbook argues that the work of volunteers is most likely to resemble this occupation category, and that the associated wage rate is conservative and typically towards the low end of the income scale but not at the very bottom. CLASSIFICATIONS The classification system used in this satellite account is a reduced version of the classification that is recommended in the Handbook, the International Classification of Nonprofit Organisations (ICNPO). Although ICNPO does include some purpose criteria, it is fundamentally an activity classification. ICNPO permits a fuller specification of the components of the non-profit sector than the industry classification used in Australia, the Australian and New Zealand Standard Industrial Classification (ANZSIC). In some instances the detailed ANZSIC codes cut across several ICNPO groups and sub groups. In keeping with the current availability of data, a number of the broad level ICNPO groups have been combined in this publication and estimates have not been produced for classifications below the group level. A full version of ICNPO and the concordance between ICNPO and the ANZSIC classification are shown as part of the satellite account publication. Data on voluntary work was collected using an activity classification which is similar to ICNPO, at least at the Group level. A concordance between ICNPO and the type of organisation for which volunteers worked is also available. The principles detailed in the Standard Economic Sector Classifications of Australia (cat. no. 1218.0) have been applied to determine the market/non market classification of NPI data. Document Selection These documents will be presented in a new window.
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