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.
BEA's Preliminary Strategic Plan for 2001 - 2005
This paper provides background information on the new economy and how it relates to BEA’s economic accounts. It is designed to answer the following questions:
- What is the new economy?
- Why is it important that the new economy be captured in GDP and BEA’s other economic… Read more
Investigating Convergence of the U.S. Regions: A Time-Series Analysis
Most economists conclude that the U.S. regions have converged in per capita earnings during a majority of the 20th century, though controversy abounds over the methods employed to test for such convergence. Using time-series techniques, this paper finds evidence that the U.S. regions have… Read more
Balancing the GDP Account
Alternative Treatments of Consumer Durables in the National Accounts
Selected Price Estimation Work at Other Government Organizations
Expansion Strategies of U.S. Multinational Firms
Recent theoretical work tends to characterize multinational enterprises as arising through either horizontal or vertical foreign direct investment (FDI). Empirical research tends to find stronger support for the former than for the latter. In this paper, we use recent, detailed data on U.S.… Read more
International Accounts Data Needs: Plans, Progress, and Priorities
BEA’s International Accounts Directorate is responsible for preparing the nation’s estimates of the international transactions accounts, international investment position, and operations of U.S. parent companies and U.S. and foreign affiliates, and for preparing analyses of major developments… Read more
Priorities for Industry Accounts at BEA
The U.S. economy is undergoing significant structural change that economists and policymakers would like to study from an industry perspective. BEA’s industry accounts--the input-output (I-O) accounts, the gross product originating (GPO) accounts, and the gross state product (GSP) estimates--… Read more
Treatment of Employee Stock Options in the U.S. National Economic Accounts
U.S. companies increasingly use the granting of employee stock options as part of an overall compensation package. What was originally an executive perk is now often provided to all employees. This growth has added significance to several questions on the treatment and valuation of these stock… Read more