The Effect of Rebasing on GDP - ARCHIVED

About once every five years, the System of National Accounts (SNA) is rebased to keep up with the evolution of prices in the economy. In other words, its aggregates at constant prices are recalculated in terms of the prices of a more recent time. Also, the System is revamped about once a decade to introduce new accounting conventions, improved methods of estimation and revised statistical classifications. These revisions will change the gross domestic product (GDP) of the past 70 years. Both types of revision are presently underway, with their results scheduled for release next year.

This article takes an advance look at the likely effect of rebasing the SNA on the record of growth since 1992. It presents the results of an approximate rebasing of the expenditure-based GDP of the quarterly National Income and Expenditure Accounts (NIEA).