Training Catalog Session Details

Compilers of national accounts statistics employed by agencies responsible for official national accounts data.

Participants should have a degree in economics or statistics, or equivalent experience.

This course, presented by the Statistics Department, covers theoretical and practical aspects in the compilation of national accounts statistics based on the conceptual framework of the System of National Accounts 2008 (2008 SNA). The course consists of lectures covering methodological and compilation issues of the 2008 SNA and workshops consisting of practical exercises in compiling the accounts. The main aim of the course is to train participants in the compilation of annual gross domestic product both at current prices and in volume terms using the production and expenditure approaches, in support of better policy-making and surveillance. The course starts with an overview of the system of national accounts, presenting the sequence of accounts for transactions and other flows as well as balance sheets, with a focus on the framework of the 2008 SNA. It covers the main concepts involving transactions, other economic flows, stocks, institutional units, classifications, and main macroeconomic aggregates measured by the system. The main lectures and workshops include: sessions on the production account covering the definition and measurement of output, intermediate consumption, and value added; valuation issues; and the treatment of particular industries;  source data and issues in the compilation of GDP by production and expenditure approaches; deflators and derivation of volume measures of GDP; and  specific issues related to goods and services transactions, including supply and use framework, inventory valuation adjustment, consumption of fixed capital, non-observed and informal economy, global supply chains, and the digital economy. Emphasis is also placed on sharing country experiences among the participants, both informally and via specific country case study sessions.

Asynchronous Component — January 15–19, 2024

This component will comprise five modules and will focus on the conceptual issues that will be performed by the participants after each synchronous part. The asynchronous component will be supplemented with assigned readings and references. These modules will be made available to the participants at least five days before the start of the synchronous classes.

Participants will be required to take a pre-course quiz. Successful completion (i.e., a passing grade) will not be a pre-requisite for participating in the synchronous component. The results of the quiz will be only used by the instructors to determine the knowledge of the participants. 

Synchronous Component — January 29–February 9, 2024

The synchronous component will focus on the practical compilation of issues and topics that may require greater instructor input and feedback.  It will comprise lectures, question and answer sessions and practical workshop exercises. 

The lectures will be developed using existing lecture presentations and the scripts that were prepared for the online course. The lectures will be presented in 30 minutes to 45-minute slots. Each presentation will be followed by a brief exercise or question-answer session.

Participants will be invited to present case studies of practical problems or proposed solutions to practical problems. These issues could be related to source data or compilation.

Participants will also be invited to respond to some practice questions in discussion forums. This will be followed by a workshop where the responses to these questions will be discussed, along with the correct answers.