Carsten Stahmer

Integrated Environmental and Economic Accounting

There has already been a long and partly hot debate on how national accounting should be extended towards environmental accounting (see, e.g., Ahmad, El Serafy, Lutz 1989; Costanza 1991 part II: Accounting, Modeling and Analysis; Lutz 1993; Franz, Stahmer 1993)

Input–Output Model for the Analysis of Environmental Protection Activities

For the assessment of the economic importance of environmental protection activities, the total of all expenditure for environmental protection is often compared with the gross national product. This approach can however be satisfactoy only if it covers the expenditure for purposes of final use (e.g. fixed capital formation) which is a direct part of the expenditure-based compilation of the national product. If also expenditure belonging to intermediate consumption for the production of other goods—like current expenditure—is included, this may lead to double counting. In this article a newly developed input–output model is presented for the first time which enables us to show the extent of such double counting and to calculate a real share of environmental protection activities in the national product. Further shown are the consequences for the model of forming in the input–output table a separate service sector ‘Environmental protection activities’. The theoretical considerations are supplemented by cor...

Zeit für Kinder

In diesem Beitrag stellen wir das Konzept und ausgewahlte Ergebnisse des Projektes „Zeit fur Kinder. Okonomische Bedeutung der Erziehung und Versorgung von Kindern und Jugendlichen“ vor. Dieses Projekt ist vom Deutschen Arbeitskreis fur Familienhilfe e.V. (Kirchzarten) an das Statistische Bundesamt vergeben und dort federfuhrend von Carsten Stahmer bearbeitet worden. Christian Leipert hat das Projektteam beraten, soweit es Fragen der Familienforschung und der Familienpolitik betraf.2 Der Endbericht ist Ende 2002 vorgelegt worden.3

Transformation Matrices in Input—Output Compilation

Within the framework of the United Nations’ “System of National Accounts” (SNA)1 proposals are made for integrating input-output tables in national accounting. According to the SNA, input-output tables with uniform column and row classifications should not be calculated directly, but input-output compilation should start with computing two basic table swith different column and row classifications. One of these tables, the output table, shows the output in a breakdown by industry (producers) and commodity group. The output table is also called the make matrix. The other table, the input table, shows the intermediate use of the commodities by industry (users) and commodity group (use matrix), the final uses by commodity group and the gross value added by industry. Under the aspect of data availability, these tables are the best presentation scheme for input-output figures. In a second step, the basic tables are transformed to input-output tables with uniform row and column classifications (commodity x commodity or industry x industry tables). These tables are used for input-output analysis.

Connecting National Accounts and Input-Output Tables in the Federal Republic of Germany

The concepts for the traditional national accounts which — on a high level of aggregation — provide a comprehensive overview of the economic activities, and those of the input-output tables which present the network of production and distribution of cottmodi.ties between the different branches of the economy in detail, have been developed quite independently from each other. The first national accounting systems of the United Nations (UN) and the Organization for European Economic Co-operation (OEEC)1) were limited to the highly aggregated traditional accounts. A breakdown of some aggregates (e.g. national product by industries, consumers’ expenditure by conmodities) was given only in supplementary tables. The further discussion in the fifties revealed possibilities of integrating the national accounts and the data of input-output tables2), but it revealed as well the difficulties. Differing aims of the two partial systems caused discrepancies with respect to concepts, definitions, classifications etc.

System for Integrated Environmental and Economic Accounting (SEEA) of the United Nations

The discussion of environmentally sound and sustainable socioeconomic development has received increased attention by the international community, stimulated in particular by the report of the World Commission on Environment and Development (1987). Environmentally sound and sustainable development was also the basic theme for the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development in Rio de Janeiro in June 1992.