THE EXTENSION OF THE UN SNA SUPPLY—DISPOSITION TABLE FOR DEVELOPMENT POLICY ANALYSIS1

Abstract

The relevance of national accounts data to the broad development planning process which spans varying time horizons is considered. Undue emphasis on aggregated conventional macro‐economic variables and recorded monetary values may have distorted the real vision and objectives of development. At the same time, other important and measurable problems like regional and distributive imbalances have often remained unquantified in traditional planning models. The UN “Supply‐Disposition” table permits a summary description of the basic structure of an economy which can be easily extended within the context of the complete SNA to embrace significant social features without resort to complex inter‐industry relationships. The table, however, loses few of the important dynamic economic properties of a full I–O system. It retains the means of checking the consistency of both overall policy objectives as well as basic data and it enables governments to ensure the necessary equilibrium between physical resource flows and financing capacity in formulating their development plans. The system's internal logic, combined with its potential for greater relevance and flexibility and capacity for fairly rapid and regular up‐dating, makes it a most useful tool for practical planning purposes. Case studies of Zambia, Fiji and Oman are used to illustrate the fundamental concepts and underlying schematic framework of the system and its flexibility.