Connecting National Accounts and Input-Output Tables in the Federal Republic of Germany

Abstract

The concepts for the traditional national accounts which — on a high level of aggregation — provide a comprehensive overview of the economic activities, and those of the input-output tables which present the network of production and distribution of cottmodi.ties between the different branches of the economy in detail, have been developed quite independently from each other. The first national accounting systems of the United Nations (UN) and the Organization for European Economic Co-operation (OEEC)1) were limited to the highly aggregated traditional accounts. A breakdown of some aggregates (e.g. national product by industries, consumers’ expenditure by conmodities) was given only in supplementary tables. The further discussion in the fifties revealed possibilities of integrating the national accounts and the data of input-output tables2), but it revealed as well the difficulties. Differing aims of the two partial systems caused discrepancies with respect to concepts, definitions, classifications etc.