Land and Natural Resources
AEG
New York, April 2012
Contact: nadim.ahmad@oecd.org
Background
• Not the first time that the measurement of land has
caused concern
– Discussed on numerous occasions in previous WP meetings.
• And land has always been important
– Environmental accounting
– GDP (via user cost approach for imputed rent)
– Growth accounting
• But the need for robust estimates has heightened:
– Financial crisis information gaps (G20 Recommendation 15)
– Focus on household wealth
– Produced land in the 2008 SNA
• Re-emphasised at
– 2010 WPs on Financial Statistics and National Accounts 2010
– CSTAT 2011
Survey Results – Balance sheets
• 23 countries responded
• 5 (Cze, Fin, Fra, Jpn, Mex) produce full balance sheets
by detailed land type
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–
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Land underlying buildings
Land under cultivation
Recreational land and associated surface water
Other land and associated surface water
• 5 produce partial info (Can, Ita, Kor, Nld, Swe)
• Many others have plans to do so.
• Appears to be inconsistent treatment of produced land
in balance sheets – some countries include it under
land, others under other fixed assets.
Survey Results – Produced land
• 1 country covers all land categories (Svn)
• 10 cover parts (Can, Fin, Fra, Isr, Ita, Nld, ior, Pol, Prt,
and Swe).
Valuation:
• Investment
– Survey - Can, Cze, Fra, Nld, Pol,Prt
– Commodity Flow – Jpn
– Input costs - Swe
• Balance sheets
– PIM: Can (linear depreciation), Cze, Fra, Nld
– Values – Jpn, Pol
Survey Results – Sectors
• Balance sheet
– Full split by land-type/sector:
• Can, Cze, Fra, Ita, Nld produce detailed split.
– Partial (total land) by sector:
• Jpn, Kor, and Swe
• Investment
– Full sectoral accounts by land type in Slv
– Partial in Can, Fra, Mex, Nld, Pol and Prt.
Land under buildings - methods
• Ratios:
– Can, Fra, Ita (part), Prt, Svn (owner-occ)
• Direct price information
– Cze, Jpn
• Indirect
– (total value minus depreciated building costs)
– Ita (part), Nld, Svn (market dwellings), Swe
– NPV approach, Mex, Nld (part non-res)
• Chi does not include value of land under
buildings and structures
Land owned by government
• Should be included:
– Can, Cze, Dnk, Fin, Fra, Ita, Jpn, Kor, Swe.
• Should not be included:
– Nld
Dealing with volume changes
Revaluation vs OCV
• OCV
– Cze, Dnk, Fra, Nld, Swe, Kor (for
reclassifications)
• Revaluations –
– Jpn, Mex, Prt, Swe (when the surrounding
land changes)
Requests for further work
• Measuring land under dwellings
– Residual method implies all holding gains/losses end
up in land. Correct?
• Further guidance requested for BS estimation
• Identifying and valuing land owned by government
• Guidelines for OVC changes not driven by
reclassification?
• Timing of OVC/Revaluation changes, who benefits?
• Suitability of fiscal data as a market price proxy
• Extending the production accounts to re-route rent of
land to intermediate consumption (for productivity)
Next steps
• OECD-Eurostat Task Force on non-financial
assets (focussing on land and dwellings)
– 1st meeting June-July 2012
Issues for the AEG
• Agree with the need for further guidance?
• Views on current practices
– Should the use of fixed ratios be explicitly
discouraged?
• Which sub-categories of land should be
stressed?
• Measuring quality changes?
• New category of rents from land (payable
and receivable) in PI?
• Other areas/issues?