Behind the Numbers U.S. Trade in the World Economy (1992) / Chapter Skim
Currently Skimming:
2. Extending the Comparability of International and Domestic Economic Data
2. Extending the Comparability of International and Domestic Economic Data
Pages 46-62
The Chapter Skim interface presents what we've algorithmically identified as the most significant single chunk of text within every page in the chapter.
Select key terms on the right to highlight them within pages of the chapter.
From page 46... ...
exports and imports are of considerable interest in themselves, business decision makers, government officials, and researchers often want to relate international trade data to domestic economic data. Domestic producers of a given product, for example, want to know not only the quantities of competing products that are imported, but also what share of the total domestic consumption of that product is represented by those imports.
|
From page 47... ...
Furthermore, as the globalization of production continues, there is an increasing need for such comparable national and international information as the extent of trade in services, the value of U.S. direct investment abroad and of foreign direct investment in the United States, and volume of goods and services production by affiliates.
|
From page 48... ...
One major difference is that data on merchandise trade are classified by product, and many data series on domestic economic activity are classified by industry of establishment. Although comparisons of data on trade in goods and domestic production are possible through the use of concordances that artificially bridge the ciata sets, there are still significant differences between merchandise trade data and domestic economic data.
|
From page 49... ...
Data on other services are fragmentary, with little uniformity among countries in the range of services covered. Few countries collect international services data in the same detail as the United States, and no other country currently conducts regular surveys of services sold through affiliates of multinational firms (establishment transactions)
|
From page 50... ...
Among major issues that are being addressed are the delineation of resident entities; the distinction among commodities, nonfactor services, factor and property income, and current transfers; the treatment of certain imputed flows, such as reinvested earnings on direct investment; and valuation. Because the United States intends to move its national accounts closer to the SNA and to revise its international accounts in light of the forthcoming new edition of the BaJance of Payments Manual, the harmonization of the two sets of international guidelines moves work on the U.S.
|
From page 52... ...
For example, in allocating shares when goods within a former product group are distributed among more than one product group under the HS system, the allocation weights based on the world trade in the products are applied to each individual country. PRICE INDEXES FOR IMPORTS AND EXPORTS Users of time series of merchandise import and export data invariably want price indexes for traded goods in order to compare real changes in trade over time.
|
From page 53... ...
The BLS publishes import and export price indexes by three classification structures: SITC, SIC, and BEA end-use categories. DOMESTIC PRODUCTION AND IMPORT AND EXPORT DATA Another basic requirement for an adequate trade data system is the classification of imports and exports on the same basis as the classification of information on domestic production.
|
From page 54... ...
The International Trade Administration fITA) of the Department of Commerce also constructs series of imports, exports, and domestic shipments at the four-digit SIC-based level and has calculated ratios of imports to new supply (domestic shipments plus imports)
|
From page 55... ...
These data are then adjusted for underreported exports by using the trade data collected directly by the Customs Service and the Census Bureau to derive establishment exports of manufactured goods by three-digit SIC industry cocles. The data are also reported by state on a two-digit SIC industry basis.
|
From page 56... ...
Such information is important not only for determining the extent of the internationalization of domestic production, but also for the successful implementation of policies aimed at protecting domestic industries subject to injurious import competition and at helping domestic industries become more competitive. Although it is not feasible to determine the country source of every intermediate input, a significant share of the imports used as intermediate inputs could be allocated to the proper industry by relying on th import records of major industry producers and their main suppliers.
|
From page 57... ...
For many traded services, howeverespecially business, professional, and technical services it would be valuable to compare the volume of international trade in services with the domestic output of those services, just as trade in goods is compared with the domestic production of these goods. At present, the relatively small number of traded services categories does not make it too difficult to compare these with broad SIC domestic service groups, but as more and more traded services are distinguished, the comparability issue will become more important.
|
From page 58... ...
direct investment abroad and foreign direct investment in the United States from these surveys on a two- and three-digit SIC industry basis that covers both goods and services sectors. These data, together with data on domestic investment, can be used to measure the extent to which the capital stock of the United States is being internationalized as well as the extent to which the United States is penetrating foreign markets through investment activities.
|
From page 59... ...
exports. In addition to the Census Bureau's merchandise trade data, the NTDB provides data on international transactions and the quarterly NIPA compilecl by BEA; data on exchange rates and foreign interest rates gathered by the Federal Reserve Board; international labor and price statistics prepared by BLS; and other data series on the U.S.
|
From page 60... ...
GATT Standards Code Activities of NIST Organizations Conducting Standards-Related Activities Standards, Certification and Metric Information Program Department of Energy International Energy Database Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics International Labor Statistics International Price Indexes Department of State Reference Guide to Doing Business in Central and Eastern Europe Export-Import Bank of the United States Export-Import Bank of the United States, Quarterly Report Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System Foreign Spot Exchange Rates Foreign 3-Month Interest Rates Stock Price Indices for the G-10 Countries U.S. 3-Month CD Interest Rates Weighted Average Exchange Value of the Dollar U.S.
|
From page 61... ...
input-output tables. Recommendation 2-3 Data at the four-digit SIC industry level, compiled in most cases on a four-digit SIC product basis, should be collected not only on the domestic production of goods, but also on the domestic production of services, the production of goods and services by foreign affiliates, and foreign direct investment so that data on international trade in goods and services can be related to these data.
|
From page 62... ...
Recommendation 2-6 Efforts to measure traded services in greater detail should continue along with efforts to develop price indexes for internationally traded services. The United States should participate fully in international efforts to develop a common classification system for traded services for all countries.
|
Key Terms
This material may be derived from roughly machine-read images, and so is provided only to facilitate research.
More
information on Chapter Skim is available.