Household Production and Consumption in Finland 2001
Household Production and Consumption in Finland 2001
Household Production and Consumption in Finland 2001
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Foreword<br />
The national accounts are a comprehensive set of statistics that provide an<br />
overview of the size <strong>and</strong> development of the economy. Their availability is a<br />
crucial issue for economic analysis. S<strong>in</strong>ce F<strong>in</strong>l<strong>and</strong> jo<strong>in</strong>ed the European Union<br />
<strong>in</strong> 1995, the importance of national accounts has further <strong>in</strong>creased because of<br />
needs of comparability of economic data on different countries.<br />
In the national accounts, statistics on production, <strong>in</strong>come formation <strong>and</strong><br />
<strong>in</strong>come expenditure are compiled separately for different sectors, one of which<br />
is the household sector. The household sector has a dual role <strong>in</strong> the national<br />
accounts. On the one h<strong>and</strong> households have a consumer role <strong>in</strong> that they<br />
purchase goods produced <strong>in</strong> the market. On the other h<strong>and</strong>, households<br />
provide a significant share of goods <strong>and</strong> services produced <strong>in</strong> the economy.<br />
<strong>Household</strong>s engage <strong>in</strong> activities that create added value <strong>and</strong> that generate<br />
welfare. However, only part of this work is <strong>in</strong>cluded <strong>in</strong> the national accounts.<br />
For decades now national <strong>and</strong> <strong>in</strong>ternational experts have debated the<br />
possibility of measur<strong>in</strong>g household production <strong>in</strong> its entirety <strong>and</strong> show<strong>in</strong>g the<br />
results <strong>in</strong> the same account<strong>in</strong>g framework with other production. Extended<br />
national accounts that <strong>in</strong>corporate household production could help to give a<br />
more comprehensive picture of the <strong>in</strong>terplay <strong>and</strong> <strong>in</strong>teraction between different<br />
sectors <strong>and</strong> also show what k<strong>in</strong>d of shifts <strong>in</strong> economic activity occur between<br />
the sectors. Furthermore, they could improve the comparability of national<br />
economies both over time <strong>and</strong> between different countries. These are some of<br />
the key aims of the proposed <strong>Household</strong> Satellite Account.<br />
The <strong>Household</strong> Satellite Account has been developed on the basis of the<br />
method discussion that has been go<strong>in</strong>g on with<strong>in</strong> Eurostat (Statistical Office of<br />
the European Communities). F<strong>in</strong>nish experts have made a valuable<br />
contribution to this discussion: among them are Eeva Hamunen <strong>and</strong> Iiris<br />
Niemi from Statistics F<strong>in</strong>l<strong>and</strong> <strong>and</strong> Johanna Varjonen from the National<br />
Consumer Research Centre, who have been closely <strong>in</strong>volved <strong>in</strong> compil<strong>in</strong>g the<br />
present report. A number of other experts from these two organisations have<br />
also contributed to the development of the national satellite account at h<strong>and</strong>.<br />
The enthusiasm <strong>and</strong> excellent cooperation of all the people <strong>in</strong>volved has made<br />
possible this pioneer<strong>in</strong>g project <strong>and</strong> given it access to extensive datasets <strong>and</strong><br />
<strong>in</strong>terpretations of those data. Statistics F<strong>in</strong>l<strong>and</strong> <strong>and</strong> the National Consumer<br />
Research Centre have been pleased to have the country’s lead<strong>in</strong>g experts <strong>and</strong><br />
partners on the project steer<strong>in</strong>g group; they have all shown great commitment<br />
to the work of this group. Not only was the steer<strong>in</strong>g group a huge source of<br />
<strong>in</strong>spiration to the research team, but it also provided <strong>in</strong>telligent advice <strong>and</strong><br />
directions on where it should head with its work.<br />
National Consumer Research Centre Statistics F<strong>in</strong>l<strong>and</strong> 3