The Timeliness of Quarterly Income and Expenditure Accounts: An International Comparison

This paper reports the results of a survey of national Income and Expenditure Accounts (IEA) release date practices as reported by national statistical bureaus. This international survey was conducted by the author between January and March 1993 by means of a questionnaire mailed to statisticians of several countries.

Respondents to the survey were asked on what date their preliminary IEA estimates for each of the four quarters of the 1991 calendar year were officially released. They were also asked to indicate the dates on which each of the subsequent four revised sets of estimates were released. To avoid the possibility of unwarranted generalizations from a single year's experience, respondents were asked whether 1991 was a typical year or if there were special circumstances that affected the release dates in this particular period. Finally, general information was sought on each country's official revision policy.