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National accounts or national account systems (NAS) are the implementation of complete and consistent accounting techniques for measuring the economic activity of a nation. These include detailed underlying measures that rely on double-entry accounting. By construction such accounting makes the totals on both sides of an account equal even though they each measure different characteristics, for example production and the income from it. As a method, the subject is termed national accounting or, more generally, social accounting.^[1] Stated otherwise, national accounts as systems may be distinguished from the economic data associated with those systems.^[2] While sharing many common principles with business accounting, national accounts are based on economic concepts.^[3]

National accounting has developed in tandem with macroeconomics from the 1930s with its relation of aggregate demand to total output through interaction of such broad expenditure categories as consumption and investment.^[4] Economic data from national accounts are also used for empirical analysis of economic growth and development.^[5][1]

Scope[link]

National accounts broadly present output, expenditure, and income activities of the economic actors (households, corporations, government) in an economy, including their relations with other countries' economies, and their wealth (net worth). They present both flows (measured over a period) and stocks (measured at the end of a period), ensuring that the flows are reconciled with the stocks. As to flows, the national income and product accounts (in U.S. terminology) provide estimates for the money value of income and output per year or quarter, including GDP. As to stocks, the 'capital accounts' are a balance-sheet approach that has assets on one side (including values of land, the capital stock, and financial assets) and liabilities and net worth on the other, measured as of the end of the accounting period. National accounts also include measures of the changes in assets, liabilities, and net worth per accounting period. These may refer to flow of funds accounts or, again, capital accounts.^[1]

There are a number of aggregate measures in the national accounts, notably including gross domestic product or GDP, perhaps the most widely cited measure of aggregate economic activity. Ways of breaking down GDP include as types of income (wages, profits, etc.) or expenditure (consumption, investment/saving, etc.). Measures of these are examples of macro-economic data.^[6] Such aggregate measures and their change over time are generally of strongest interest to economic policymakers, although the detailed national accounts contain a source of information for economic analysis, for example in the input-output tables which show how industries interact with each other in the production process.

National accounts can be presented in nominal or real amounts, with real amounts adjusted to remove the effects of price changes over time.^[7] A corresponding price index can also be derived from national output. Rates of change of the price level and output and the may also be of interest. An inflation rate (growth rate of the price level) may be calculated for national output or its expenditure components. Economic growth rates (most commonly the growth rate of GDP) are generally measured in real (constant-price) terms. One use of economic-growth data from the national accounts is in growth accounting across longer periods of time for a country or across to estimate different sources of growth, whether from growth of factor inputs or technological change.^[8]

The accounts are derived from a wide variety of statistical source data including surveys, administrative and census data, and regulatory data, which are integrated and harmonized in the conceptual framework. They are usually compiled by national statistical offices and/or central banks in each country, though this is not always the case, and may be released on both an annual and (less detailed) quarterly frequency. Practical issues include inaccuracies from differences between economic and accounting methodologies, lack of controlled experiments on quality of data from diverse sources, and measurement of intangibles and services of the banking and financial sectors.^[9]

Two developments relevant to the national accounts since the 1980s include the following. Generational accounting is a method for measuring redistribution of lifetime tax burdens across generations from social insurance, including social security and social health insurance. It has been proposed as a better guide to the sustainability of a fiscal policy than budget deficits, which reflect only taxes minus spending in the current year.^[10] Environmental or green national accounting is the method of valuing environmental assets, which are usually not counted in measuring national wealth, in part due to the difficulty of valuing them. The method has been proposed as an alternative to an implied zero valuation of environmental assets and as a way of measuring the sustainability of welfare levels in the presence environmental degradation.^[11]

Macroeconomic data not derived from the national accounts are also of wide interest, for example some cost-of-living indexes, the unemployment rate, and the labor force participation rate.^[12] In some cases, a national-accounts counterpart of these may be estimated, such as a price index computed from the personal consumption expenditures and the GDP gap (the difference between observed GDP and potential GDP).^[13]

Main components[link]

The presentation of national accounts data may vary by country (commonly, aggregate measures are given greatest prominence), however the main national accounts include the following accounts for the economy as a whole and its main economic actors.

• Current accounts:

production accounts which record the value of domestic output and the goods and services used up in producing that output. The balancing item of the accounts is value added, which is equal to GDP when expressed for the whole economy at market prices and in gross terms;

income accounts, which show primary and secondary income flows - both the income generated in production (e.g. wages and salaries) and distributive income flows (predominantly the redistributive effects of government taxes and social benefit payments). The balancing item of the accounts is disposable income ("National Income" when measured for the whole economy);

expenditure accounts, which show how disposable income is either consumed or saved. The balancing item of these accounts is saving.

• Capital accounts, which record the net accumulation, as the result of transactions, of non-financial assets; and the financing, by way of saving and capital transfers, of the accumulation. Net lending/borrowing is the balancing item for these accounts
• Financial accounts, which show the net acquisition of financial assets and the net incurrence of liabilities. The balance on these accounts is the net change in financial position.
• Balance sheets, which record the stock of assets, both financial and non-financial, and liabilities at a particular point in time. Net worth is the balance from the balance sheets (United Nations, 1993).

The accounts may be measured as gross or net of consumption of fixed capital (a concept in national accounts similar to depreciation in business accounts).

History[link]

The original motivation for the development of national accounts and the systematic measurement of employment was the need for accurate measures of aggregate economic activity. This was made more pressing by the Great Depression and as a basis for Keynesian macroeconomic stabilisation policy and wartime economic planning. The first efforts to develop such measures were undertaken in the late 1920s and 1930s, notably by Colin Clark and Simon Kuznets. Richard Stone of the U.K. led later contributions during World War II and thereafter. The first formal national accounts were published by the United States in 1947. Many European countries followed shortly thereafter, and the United Nations published A System of National Accounts and Supporting Tables in 1952.^[1][14] International standards for national accounting are defined by the United Nations System of National Accounts, with the most recent version released for 2008.^[15]

In Europe the worldwide System of National Accounts has been adapted in the European System of Accounts (ESA), which is applied by members of the European Union and many other European countries. Research on the subject continues from its beginnings through today.^[16]

See also[link]

Notes[link]

References[link]

Medal record
Dan O'Brien
Men’s Athletics
Competitor for the  United States
Olympic Games
Gold	1996 Atlanta	Decathlon
World Championships
Gold	1991 Tokyo	Decathlon
Gold	1993 Stuttgart	Decathlon
Gold	1995 Gothenburg	Decathlon
World Indoor Championships
Gold	1993 Toronto	Heptathlon

Daniel Dion "Dan" O'Brien (born July 18, 1966 in Portland, Oregon) is a former American decathlete. He was deemed one of the best decathlon athletes of the 1990s, winning an Olympic gold medal after winning three consecutive world titles.

Dan O'Brien is of African American and Finnish heritage^[1] and grew up as an adopted child in an Irish-American family in Klamath Falls, Oregon. He graduated from Henley High School (Klamath Falls, Oregon) in 1984 and the University of Idaho in 1989, where he competed in track and field. His name is attached to the university's outdoor track and field venue, where he quietly trained for his Olympic and world championships under the aid of Idaho's track coach, Mike Keller. The complex underwent a $2.5 million renovation in 2011-12, and O'Brien was on hand in May 2012 to re-dedicate it.^[2][3]

O'Brien won the Olympic gold medal for decathlon at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, and also won gold medals at the 1991, 1993, and 1995 World Championships in Athletics.

In 1992 he set a world record of 8,891 points, and appeared with U.S. rival Dave Johnson in a popular TV advertising campaign for Reebok. The series of commercials, entitled "Dan & Dave," were meant to build interest in Reebok and the decathletes, culminating in the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona. At the U.S. Olympic trials at Tad Gormley Stadium in New Orleans, O'Brien voluntarily passed on the lower heights in the pole vault, then failed in his first three attempts, resulting in no points for the event, and ultimately, did not qualify for the Olympic team. His unexpected failure received considerable attention; Reebok adjusted by running new ads featuring him cheering on Dave, who went on to win the bronze medal.

In the late 1990s, Dan O'Brien appeared in ads for Italian designer Versace. He was inducted into the Oregon Sports Hall of Fame in 2005, along with Dave Johnson.^[4][5] In 2006, he was inducted into the National Track and Field Hall of Fame. And he was inducted into the University of Idaho Sports Hall of Fame with the large inaugural class of 2007.

O'Brien broke the world record for the fastest game of hopscotch on Chelsea Piers on May 7, 2009. He established a record of 1 minute and 21 seconds, breaking the old mark by two seconds.^[6]

O'Brien has been a resident of the Phoenix area since 1997, relocating from Moscow, Idaho. He owns Gold Medal Acceleration, a gym in Scottsdale, is a volunteer track coach at ASU, and does commentary for track and field events on television.

In 2010, Henley High School honored O'Brien by renaming its football field after the athlete.

After initially flunking out of the University of Idaho and then incurring legal difficulties, O'Brien attended Spokane Falls Community College, a community college in Spokane, Washington in 1988. He returned to the UI to compete for the Vandal track team and complete his bachelor's degree.^[7]

Shortly following the 2010 MLB season, O'Brien began working with San Francisco Giants third baseman Pablo Sandoval, in an effort to help the struggling slugger lose weight.^[8]

In 2012, O'Brien was elected into the United States Olympic Hall of Fame.^[9]

Shortly after his gold medal performance at the 1996 Olympics, O'Brien was honored with "Dan O'Brien Day" by the state of Idaho and a parade by the city of Moscow in mid-August. ^[10][11]

On June 1st 2012, O'Brien released a book, "Clearing Hurdles: The Quest to Be The World's Greatest Athlete."

References[link]

External links[link]

• University of Idaho - Vandal Athletics Hall of Fame - Dan O'Brien
• Arizona State University track team - Dan O'Brien - volunteer coach
• A "Dan & Dave" reunion - The Portland Tribune - 07-Oct-2005
• Biggest sports busts -- ESPN Page 2

Records
Preceded by Daley Thompson	Men's Decathlon World Record Holder September 5, 1992 – July 4, 1999	Succeeded by Tomáš Dvořák
Preceded by Christian Plaziat	Men's heptathlon world record holder March 14, 1993 – March 13, 2010	Succeeded by Ashton Eaton