Public Versus Private: The Empty Definitions of National Accounting

Author: Jones, Rowan

Source: Financial Accountability and Management, Volume 16, Number 2, May 2000 , pp. 167-178(12)

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Abstract:

The policy-making processes and the policies of the two international systems of national accounts are addressed, from the perspective of the accounting discipline. The particular measurement issue that determines which parts of an economy are public and which are private - the reporting entity - is discussed. The main conclusion is that the definition of the reporting entities is so vague as to be empty; in other words, national accounting's definition of what is public and what is private is empty.

Keywords: national; accounting; public; private; sector

Document Type: Original article

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/1468-0408.00103

Affiliations: 1: University of Birmingham, UK

Publication date: 2000-05-01