National Accounts Practices in the
Caribbean Countries as of 2011
An update of the assessment carried out in the
ICP context, based on the UNSD questionnaire.
January 2013,
Hernán Epstein
- ECLAC -
This Presentation…
This is a presentation that was done by Jan
Redeby in September 2011 in Port of Spain.
 He is a consultant in the ICP and worked
with the countries to determine whether
the countries met the requirements in terms
of National Accounts.
 We have also received 7 questionnaires from
the region and have updated the information
accordingly.
 These questionnaires still need to be
validated

CARICOM Member & Associate
States
Anguilla *
Antigua and Barbuda
The Bahamas
Barbados
Belize
Bermuda *
British Virgin Islands
Cayman Islands
Dominica
Grenada *
First Hand Information
Second Hand Information
No Information
Guyana
Jamaica *
Haiti
Montserrat *
Saint Lucia
St. Kitts & Nevis *
St.Vincent & the Grenadines *
Suriname
Trinidad & Tobago
Turks & Caicos Islands
The presentation is based on
info from 18 countries, from
2011
* Countries that have submitted their Questionnaires, by early this week
Topics
GDP by activity
 Expenditure on GDP
 Current and Constant Prices
 Supply and use tables
 Quarterly GDP-estimates
 Conclusion

GDP by Activity 1
GDP by activity is compiled in all countries
at current and constant prices
GDP is decided from the production side with one
exception – Bahamas
 Mostly of better quality compared to the expenditure
side – source data more readily available
 16 countries use ISIC, rev 3.1 for classification of
industries or compatible national classification, while 2
use ISIC, rev 4.

Of the 7 countries that responded to the Questionnaire, 6 reported
using the 3.1 and one the 3.
GDP by Activity 2
Sources
Department of Agriculture / Forestry / Fisheries
 Enterprise (business) surveys – often handled by
national accounts section
 Business data (such as annual reports), often for
electricity, water, telecommunications, others
 Commodity flow technique – construction
 Central bank / regulatory authorities – financial
intermediation and insurance
 Government accounts
 Benchmarks projected with indicators – e.g., owner
occupied dwellings
 Lack of price data for deflation

GDP by Activity 3
Underestimation of GDP





Many countries indicate that the informal
sector is not well estimated, if at all
NPISH often underestimated
Illegal activities / products not included
Dwelling services may be underestimated
Consumption of fixed capital not estimated
for government
Expenditure on GDP 1
17 countries compile expenditure on GDP at
current prices
Of the 7 countries that responded to the Questionnaire, all
report compiling it at current prices at some level.
3 countries also compile constant prices
Of the 7 countries that responded to the Questionnaire, none
compiles it at constant prices, but all except one plan to.
9 countries estimate private consumption as a
residual
8 countries (at least) do not estimate changes
in inventories  residual includes CI
Of the 7 countries that responded to the Questionnaire, 3
estimate changes in inventories, and 3 plan to.
Expenditure on GDP 2
Sources






Private consumption (where estimated): Benchmark
(HBS) and commodity flows
Government consumption: Government accounts
Gross fixed capital formation: Commodity flows
Changes in inventories (where estimated): Enterprise
surveys and business data
Exports and imports of goods: Customs data;
ASYCUDA (or similar) and EUROTRACE
Exports and imports of services:
Balance of payments
Constant prices
Base year



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Base year 2001
Base year 2006
Base year 2003
Base year 2000
Earlier base year
1 country
13 countries
1 country
1 country
2 countries
Constraints
Detailed and adequate price indices are often
scarce
Supply and use table
8 countries have compiled SUT
 Bahamas
2002, 2005, 2007
 Barbados
2000
 Bermuda
2004, 2008
 British Virgin Islands
1999
 Guyana
2006
 Jamaica
2000
 St Vincent and
the Grenadines
2000
Of the 7 countries that responded to the Questionnaire, 3 reported
compiling annual SUT and one plans to.
Quarterly GDP-estimates
Jamaica
GDP by activity at current and constant prices
Belize
GDP by activity at constant prices
Bermuda
Expenditure on GDP at current prices
ECCU
Compound quarterly indicator – Close to GDP by
activity
Of the 7 Questionnaires, 2 countries compile Quarterly GDP-estimates of
some sort, while one plans to.
Final Remarks

We do not have very up to date
information on the countries’ current
National Accounts situation
Hard
to obtain an accurate diagnostics
It is important that we receive the
Questionnaire from the countries and
that this data is validated.
Thank you!