NATIONAL ACCOUNTS

12.10 Conceptually, Australia's balance of payments is part of the Australian System of National Accounts (ASNA). The exports and imports series shown in the national accounts are identical to those in the balance of payments.

12.11 The ASNA is designed to provide a systematic summary of economic activity and has been developed to facilitate the practical application of economic theory. At their summary level, the accounts reflect key economic flows: production, income, consumption, investment and saving. At their more detailed level, they are designed to present a statistical picture of the structure of the economy and the detailed processes that make up the domestic production and its distribution. For many analysts, Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is the key economic aggregate. GDP is based on the concept of value added which is the unduplicated value of goods and services produced in the Australian economy in any period.

12.12 In the national accounts, exports and imports are included in the expenditure based measure of GDP. This measure is derived as the sum of final consumption expenditure by government and households, plus investment in fixed capital formation and changes in inventories, plus exports minus imports (of both goods and services). See Box 12.3.

GDP(E)	= Final consumption expenditure + Gross fixed capital formation + Changes in inventories + Exports (includes goods and services) - Imports (includes goods and services)

12.13 The Australian national accounts are compiled according to the 2008 SNA. Australia's application of this standard is described in the Australian System of National Accounts: Concepts, Sources and Methods (cat. no. 5216.0).


PRIVATE NEW CAPITAL EXPENDITURE

12.14 Estimates of expenditure on machinery and equipment (a component of private gross fixed capital formation) is another component of GDP(E). These estimates are compiled primarily from data collected in the quarterly Survey of New Capital Expenditure and published in Private New Capital Expenditure and Expected Expenditure, Australia (cat. no. 5625.0).

12.15 Details of large value capital equipment imports reported in International Trade in Goods and Services, Australia (cat. no. 5368.0) are used as a coverage check to ensure all large transactions have been included in the Survey of New Capital Expenditure. There is also regular communication between staff involved in compiling capital expenditure, national accounts, balance of payments and international merchandise trade statistics to ensure coherent coverage and treatment of machinery and equipment and engineering construction projects.


CHAIN VOLUME MEASURES

12.16 Chain volume measures are estimates of growth (or the change in volume) after the direct effect of price changes have been eliminated. Chain volume measures are published, along with other measures of Australia's economy, in the quarterly Australian National Accounts: National Income, Expenditure and Product (cat. no. 5206.0) and Balance of Payments and International Investment Position, Australia (cat. no. 5302.0), and in the annual Australian System of National Accounts (cat. no. 5204.0).

12.17 Chain volume measures for approximately 70% of export commodities are obtained by quantity revaluation using quantity information recorded in the international merchandise trade statistics, on a quarterly basis. The remaining 30% are calculated by deflating current price values using export price indexes. The compilation of chain volume measures is described in detail in the ABS publication Spotlight on National Accounts, July 2011 (cat. no. 5202.0).

12.18 The chain volume measures of coverage and timing adjustments that are made to bring exports as recorded in the international merchandise trade statistics onto the required national accounts/balance of payments basis are derived using relevant implicit price deflators from the underlying quantity data, or the export price index or a combination of both.

12.19 Chain volume measures for import commodities are obtained by price deflation. Chain volume measures for international merchandise trade (on a balance of payments basis) are also constructed in the Balance of Payments and International Investment Position, Australia (cat. no. 5302.0) publication using a similar methodology.


INPUT-OUTPUT TABLES

12.20 Input-output tables also use international merchandise trade statistics. These tables present a detailed picture of the supply and use of all products in the economy and the income generated from production. In simple terms imports are part of the supply of products to the Australian economy and exports are one of the ways that products are used (and so are included in the use table).

12.21 In the compilation of input-output tables, international merchandise trade statistics are reclassified to Input Output Product Classifications (IOPCs), which are then aggregated to the Input Output Product Groups (IOPGs). To be consistent with the rest of the national accounts the international merchandise trade statistics (by IOPC and IOPG) are then adjusted to a balance of payments basis.

12.22 Input-output tables are published annually in the Australian National Accounts: Input-Output Tables (cat. no. 5209.0.55.001). Further information about the tables can be found in that publication or for a detailed explanation see Chapter 22 of Australian System of National Accounts: Concepts, Sources and Methods (cat. no. 5216.0).


STATE ACCOUNTS

12.23 Australia's national accounts include accounts for each of Australia's states and territories. Estimates of the components of state final demand (which includes exports and imports of goods) are published quarterly in the Australian National Accounts: National Income, Expenditure and Product (cat. no. 5206.0). A more complete set of accounts and estimates of gross state product are published annually in the publication Australian National Accounts: State Accounts (cat. no. 5220.0). The exports and imports data in these tables are largely sourced from international merchandise trade statistics.