Australian National Accounts - Information and Communication Technology Satellite Account
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Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) An ICT satellite account defines ICT products and identifies their supply and use, so that a comprehensive set of economic data relating to ICT activity can be compiled for the Australian economy. Among other things, this allows us to quantify the size of ICT production relative to other types of economic activity. The scope of the ICT satellite account is dependent upon the definition of ICT goods and services utilised. While there is no formal ICT 'industry' as such, there is significant interest in those businesses predominately engaged in the production of ICT goods and services. In addition, many traditional industries also produce ICT goods and services, particularly computer software, on "own account". The supply and use tables, which are the cornerstone of the annual and quarterly national accounts in Australia, provide the framework for the development of an ICT satellite account. The "supply" table records the total supply of products within an economy. Total supply at purchasers' prices (PP) is made up of: domestic production at basic prices (BP); imports; transport, retail and wholesale trade margins; and taxes less subsidies on products. The "use" table shows the use of goods and services in the economy. Total use is made up of: intermediate use by industry (products that are used by industries to feed into the production process); final demand (products that are consumed by households and government and do not undergo any further transformation); gross fixed capital formation (products that are capitalised because they are used in production for more than one period); changes in inventories; and exports. Supply and use tables provide a coherent view of the economy in which total supply of goods and services equals their total use, and industry inputs sum to industry outputs. Hence, the use of all supply can be accounted for and there are no discrepancies within the system. A feature of the supply and use system is that the supply and demand of each product are, as far as possible, independently calculated. A formal and systematic process of data confrontation then resolves discrepancies between supply and demand. In compiling the annual national accounts, this supply and use balancing process is undertaken for all products in the economy, so there is no statistical discrepancy, and the same result is derived for gross domestic product (GDP) whether it is calculated using the production, income or expenditure approach. PURPOSE
The monetary aggregates described above are first dimension outputs. A feature of satellite accounts is that the first dimension outputs can be supplemented with non-monetary data, or second dimension outputs. Some second dimension aggregates of potential interest are:
A more detailed understanding of the sources of supply of ICT products and their use could assist government policy formation and assist research more generally. For example it would show: the level of domestic production of ICT products versus imports; which domestic industries are producing ICT products; the incidence of tax on ICT goods and services; and who is using ICT products. A satellite account could facilitate investigation of where productivity gains arising from ICT are being achieved. In countries such as Australia which do not have a large domestic ICT manufacturing industry, productivity analyses would focus on the demand side. It is widely accepted that productivity improvements may arise from ICT use as well as ICT production. For example, the Productivity Commission has suggested that improvements in the productivity of the wholesale trade industry has been due, at least in part, to the increased use of ICT by that industry. SCOPE The scope of the ICT satellite account is dependent upon the definition of ICT goods and services utilised. While there is no formal ICT 'industry' as such, there is significant interest in those businesses predominately engaged in the production of ICT goods and services. In addition, many traditional industries also produce ICT goods and services, particularly computer software, on "own account". The supply and use tables, which are the cornerstone of the annual and quarterly national accounts in Australia, provide the framework for the development of an ICT satellite account. The "supply" table records the total supply of products within an economy. Total supply at purchasers' prices (PP) is made up of: domestic production at basic prices (BP); imports; transport, retail and wholesale trade margins; and taxes less subsidies on products. The "use" table shows the use of goods and services in the economy. Total use is made up of: intermediate use by industry (products that are used by industries to feed into the production process); final demand (products that are consumed by households and government and do not undergo any further transformation); gross fixed capital formation (products that are capitalised because they are used in production for more than one period); changes in inventories; and exports. Supply and use tables provide a coherent view of the economy in which total supply of goods and services equals their total use, and industry inputs sum to industry outputs. Hence, the use of all supply can be accounted for and there are no discrepancies within the system. A feature of the supply and use system is that the supply and demand of each product are, as far as possible, independently calculated. A formal and systematic process of data confrontation then resolves discrepancies between supply and demand. In compiling the annual national accounts, this supply and use balancing process is undertaken for all products in the economy, so there is no statistical discrepancy, and the same result is derived for gross domestic product (GDP) whether it is calculated using the production, income or expenditure approach. Information will be obtained from a variety of sources to feed into the ICT satellite Account, including Economic Activity Survey suite of collections, Government (use of) Technology Survey, Household Income and Expenditure Survey, Survey of International Trade in Services and imports and exports data from Custioms system. DATA DETAIL Conceptual framework Main outputs
The monetary aggregates described above are first dimension outputs. A feature of satellite accounts is that the first dimension outputs can be supplemented with non-monetary data, or second dimension outputs. Some second dimension aggregates of potential interest are:
Classifications Australian and New Zealand Standard Industry Classification (ANZSIC), Australian and New Zealand Standard Product Classification (ANZSPC) Other concepts (summary) Australia is one of very few countries which conducts specific ICT Industry Surveys by utilising a set of ICT goods and services descriptions developed from various commodity classifications (we have been doing this since the early 1990's). Information and Communication Technology (ICT) refers to the services and technologies that enable information to be accessed, stored, processed, transformed, manipulated and disseminated, including the transmission or communication of voice, image and/or data over a variety of transmission media. Transmission media include telephone, facsimile, Internet data lines, satellite, microwave, radio, etc. ICT industries are those that manufacture and distribute ICT goods and provide a range of computer and communication services. ICT goods and services are defined to include:
A substantial proportion of ICT-related supply side data can be sourced from the ABS ICT Industry Survey. This survey is generally conducted biennially, with the next survey planned in respect of 2002-03. The ICT Industry Survey targets specific industries where it is known that significant ICT production occurs. Since it targets a narrow range of industries where the production, import or sale of ICT products are primary activities (manufacturers of ICT goods; wholesalers of ICT goods; and providers of computer hardware/software-related services and telecommunications services), this survey is unlikely to capture ICT-related activity where such activity is a secondary activity of the business. There is no current data available for the supply of computer software produced on own account by businesses (other than those included in the ICT Industry Survey described above) or by governments. This is a major weakness in the current data set and there will be a requirement to collect from businesses and government organisations the following:
The ABS compiles annual statistics on ICT goods imported and exported (data are obtained as an administrative by-product from the Australian Customs Service). Statistics on international trade in ICT services can be obtained from the ABS Survey of International Trade in Services. Use of ICT products The ABS conducts a general economy-wide annual Economic Activity Survey (EAS) which covers all non-government units. This is supplemented with information collected by the Australian Taxation Office (ATO). While the data items collected are necessarily general in nature, the following ICT-specific data items are presently captured for businesses: telecommunications expenses; software purchases expensed; software purchases capitalised; and capital expenditure on computer hardware and computer peripherals. There will be a requirement to collect on EAS additional data on the demand/use side across businesses covering the following: Expenses:
Capital expenditure:
Other data:
The Government (use of) Technology Survey (GUIT) relates to federal, State/territory and local general government organisations (past surveys have excluded educational organisations). The current ABS strategy is to generally conduct these surveys every second or third year, with the next survey scheduled to be conducted in respect of 2002-03. While the initial cycle of this survey contained reasonable financial data, subsequent cycles collected a very limited range of financial data, instead focussing on such things as: recording the type and extent of government usage of various ICT products; measures of Internet usage; and various employee-related aspects of ICT use. The 2002-03 survey will see a return to the collection of more extensive financial data and cover educational organisations. The range of data to be collected in respect of 2002-03 are: Expenses:
Capital expenditure:
Other data:
A detailed survey of Retail activity is undertaken periodically in Australia, the most recent being in respect of 1998-99. This survey provides data on household expenditure on computers, computer peripherals and packaged software. A detailed household-based survey of income and expenditure (HES) is also undertaken periodically within Australia, most recently in respect of 1998-99. It collects information on household expenditures on ICT products. The next HES will be conducted in respect of 2003-04. DATA AVAILABILITY Yes Data availability comments Document Selection These documents will be presented in a new window.
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