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.
Accounting for Obsolescence: An Evaluation of Current NIPA Practice
The Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) makes estimates of consumption of fixed (CFC) that are used in its estimates of the nation's net income and product. These estimates reflect expected obsolescence and are adjusted for quality change in the underlying capital assets. Recently, some papers… Read more
Appendix C: Adapting BEA's National and Industry Accounts for a Health Care Satellite Account | Strategies for a BEA Satellite Health Care Account: Summary of a Workshop
Appendix C: Adapting BEA's National and Industry Accounts for a Health Care Satellite Account
In March 2008, the Committee on National Statistics of the National Academies held a workshop to assist the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) with next steps as it develops plans to produce a satellite health care account. This account, designed to improve its measurement of economic activity in… Read more
Methodology for the Industry Estimates in the 2007 R&D Satellite Account
This paper is part of a series that provides the details behind the Bureau of Economic Analysis's (BEA) satellite account on research and development (R&D) activity. It describes the data and experimental methodology used to create the GDP-by-Industry component of the satellite account for… Read more
2007 R&D Satellite Account Methodologies: R&D Capital Stocks and Net Rates of Return
This paper discusses the methodologies used in constructing current- and constant-cost R&D net stocks and depreciation flows in the 2007 R&D Satellite Account. It also constructs net rates of return on private assets inclusive of R&D in a manner consistent with recent issues of the… Read more
Framework for an Industry-based R&D Satellite Account
This paper introduces a proposed framework for estimating an Industry-based R&D Satellite Account (IRDSA). The IRDSA builds on the preliminary Research and Development Satellite Account (R&DSA) released in September 2006, and provides industry and commodity detail. It adapts the U.S.… Read more
2007 R&D Satellite Account Methodologies: Current-dollar GDP Estimates
This paper discusses the methodologies used in constructing current-dollar R&D investment in the 2007 R&D Satellite Account. It also provides an overview of the current treatment of R&D in the national economic accounts and discusses how R&D as investment would affect gross… Read more
Estimating Prices for R&D Investment in the 2007 R&D Satellite Account
This paper is part of a series that provides the details behind the Bureau of Economic Analysis's (BEA) satellite account on research and development (R&D) activity. In the current work, the focus is on the theoretical underpinnings and empirical implementation of the R&D price index… Read more
R&D Depreciation Rates in the 2007 R&D Satellite Account
This paper discusses how the industry-specific rates of depreciation for R&D used to construct the 2007 R&D Satellite Account were determined after a review of the literature.
Issues Related to Treating R&D as Investment In BEA's Regional Accounts
This paper presents an analysis of regional issues related to treating R&D as an investment. It provides experimental estimates of the impact on gross domestic product by state of the new treatment of R&D. It also discusses several important conceptual and methodological issues… Read more