Course on Quarterly National Accounts

Quarterly GDP is a key indicator across the globe to measure economic activity. It is keenly followed and widely used by analysts, politicians, media, businesses, and the public in general. As quarterly GDP movements help to evaluate the overall performance of the economy and to analyze the effectiveness of economic policies, they are of central importance for analysis and policymaking. The continuous improvement of quarterly national accounts, as well as the sound incorporation of less traditional data sources, are important objectives of statistical agencies across the JVI region in order to keep improving the accuracy of quarterly GDP estimates.

In August, a two-week course on quarterly national accounts was delivered at the JVI by the IMF Statistics Department. The course explored best practices—guided by the System of National Accounts framework—and leveraged the recommendations of the IMF Quarterly National Accounts Manual. The agenda was tailored to the challenges faced by compilers—and expressed during IMF technical assistance activities across the globe—and focused on practical implementation. Participants learned about the innovative tools developed by the IMF and other international agencies to facilitate the sound use of statistical techniques central to quarterly GDP compilation, such as benchmarking, seasonal adjustment, and reconciliation. Practical exercises focused on the use of compilation tools and the analysis of results.

Participants came from a diverse range of agencies, including national statistical offices, central banks, and ministries of finance and economy across the JVI region. The diversity of backgrounds among compilers and data users, as well as the different compilation practices of countries ranging from the EU to Central Asia, made for an especially rich knowledge sharing during discussions and workshops, building a network and contributing to the improvement of real sector statistics.

Alongside regional training, the IMF’s Real Sector Division of the IMF Statistics Department provides bilateral capacity development on national accounts topics and high-frequency indicators, supported by a network of regional capacity development centers.

Margarida Martins, Senior Economist, IMF

Anthony Silungwe, Economist, IMF