The Distribution of GDP at Factor Cost by Sector

The Income and Expenditure Accounts (IEA) are structured in terms of four economic or institutional sectors, and transactors are grouped into homogeneous categories that play distinct roles in the economy. The Personal sector is concerned with individuals in their capacity as final consumers and as suppliers of labour. The Government sector centres on transactions by public authorities as they relate to taxation and public expenditure. The Profit-motivated Business sector consists of transactors producing goods and services for financial gain. The Non-resident sector shows all transactions taking place between resident economic agents and the rest of the world. Classifying transactors by similar motivation and behaviour into these broad groups is a useful tool that helps analyse the major players in the economy, their functions and interrelationships.

The purpose of this paper is to develop quarterly estimates of gross domestic product (GDP) at factor cost in both current and constant prices for each of the institutional sectors within the IEA framework. The estimates of that will be shown, of the GDP, by sector, do not constitute a full production account, but nonetheless provide a measure of aggregate productive activity by sector of origin. They complement and extend the sector tables already available in the Income and Expenditure Accounts.