Social Accounting Systems

Social accounting grew up as a result of the desire to bring together in a meaningful and comprehensive manner all the available observed facts on the economic and financial activity of a nation. Three social accounting systems of flow have been developed during the last three decades. Each of these systems has been constructed separately and independently. The framework of each system is constructed to tackle specific aspects of the national economy. It is also designed in a manner, which helps in framing policies for future activity. The aim of this book is mainly to describe the anatomy of these three social accounting systems and compare their structures. Some attention is also given to a comparison of the systems in actual use by some industrially developed countries, including the centralized economies. The problem of integrating the three systems is also cursorily treated. The student of economics, and the economist in the service of industry, private or public, will obtain from this book a picture of the concepts and: definitions used in social accounting; the book also describes how each system is constructed, and which economic study or analysis it can best serve. Another valuable feature is the comparison the author makes of the national accounts system with the Russian "Natsional'ny Dokhod." In this far-reaching and complex work, the author has brought together the fruits of his very extensive studies into the social accounting methods of many nations, and he goes beyond the analysis of existing systems to suggest ways of tackling the problems of integrating the three main systems into one. Dr. Yanovsky is at present senior economist in the State Comptroller's Office in Israel. He studied economics in the Universities of Chicago and Manchester (where he obtained his doctorate at the Department of Economics and Social Studies in 1963). It was from a thesis he wrote while in Manchester that he drew the inspiration, and much of the material, for this book.