Papers
This page provides access to papers and presentations prepared by BEA staff. Abstracts are presented in HTML format; complete papers are in PDF format with selected tables in XLS format. The views expressed in these papers are solely those of the authors and not necessarily those of the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis or the U.S. Department of Commerce.
A Balanced System of Industry Accounts for the U.S. and Structural Distribution of Statistical Discrepancy
This paper describes and illustrates a generalized least squares (GLS) reconciliation method that can efficiently incorporate all available information on initial data in reconciling a large system of disaggregated accounts and can accurately estimate industry distribution of statistical… Read more
Statistical Issues Related to Global Economic Imbalances: Perspectives on "Dark Matter"
There has been a large amount of recent interest in how the U.S. can be the so-called world's largest debtor nation and at the same time have a persistent surplus on income in its balance of payments accounts. Based on BEA's published data, two factors explain the incongruence -- a difference in… Read more
The Role of Hedonic Methods in Measuring Real GDP in the United States
Accurate price indexes are crucial for preparing accurate estimates of real gross domestic product and corresponding productivity measures. The price index must capture price change for a ‘relevant’ market basket goods, while at the same time controlling for changes in characteristics and/or… Read more
Concepts and Methods of the U.S. Input-Output Accounts
Concepts and Methods of the U.S. Input-Output Accounts, I-O, handbook, multiplier, requirement, September 2006, updated March 2009
U.S. Multinational Companies, Dividends, and Taxes
The passage of the American Jobs Creation Act of 2004 (AJCA) provided U.S. tax incentives for U.S. multinational companies that receive large dividends from their foreign affiliates. In 2005, dividends paid by foreign affiliates to their U.S. parents were 4 times as large as in 2004. With most… Read more
Distributive Services in the U.S. Economic Accounts
Distributive services industries such as wholesale trade and retail trade have contributed significantly to productivity growth in the U.S. nonfarm business sector during the past decade. Bosworth and Triplett found that retail trade alone contributed nearly one-half to the acceleration of… Read more
Outsourcing and Imported Services in BEA's Industry Accounts
Metropolitan Area Disposable Personal Income - Methodology and Results for 2001-2002
The Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) publishes annual estimates of state disposable personal income, the difference between state personal income and state personal current taxes. BEA also publishes annual estimates of personal income for sub-state areas, but BEA does not publish corresponding… Read more
Linking Frascati-based R&D Spending to the System of National Accounts
This paper provides a framework for translating research and development expenditure data organized based on the Frascati Manual to a measure of gross output consistent with The System of National Accounts 1993. This translation sets up the output measures and sectoral framework for the… Read more
R&D Expenditures for the U.S.: A Frascati to System of National Accounts Application to U.S. Data
This paper translates research and development expenditure data organized based on the Frascati Manual for the U.S. to a measure of gross output consistent with The System of National Accounts 1993. A set of detailed tables translates U.S. survey data on the performance of R&D from the… Read more