- Methods and Projects
- Standards and Classifications
Standardised Methodological Report
Spanish Regional Accounts. Base 2008
- 1Contact
- 1.1Contact organisation
National Statistics Institute of Spain
- 1.5Contact mail address
Paseo de la Castellana 183 - 28046 Madrid
- 1.1Contact organisation
- 2Metadata update
- 2.1Metadata last certified
07/02/2022
- 2.2Metadata last posted
31/03/2014
- 2.3Metadata last update
07/02/2022
- 2.1Metadata last certified
- 3Statistical presentation
- 3.1Data description
The Spanish Regional Accounts (SRA) are a statistical operation whose main purpose is to offer a quantified, systematic and as complete as possible description of the Spanish regional economic activity (in Autonomous Communities and provinces) during the considered reference period.
From a conceptual point of view, it follows the methodology established in the European System of National and Regional Accounts ESA-1995 (approved by 2223/96 Regulation (EC) on 25th June 1996). The conceptual and quantitave reference frame where it belongs is the Spanish National Accounts (SNA).
The information provided allows to analise and assess the estructure and evolution of regional economies, and it servers as a statistical base for the design, execution and monitoring of regional policies.
The main variables provided by the SRA are: regional aggregates of production activities by activity branch (gross added value, wage earners remuneration, employment, gross capital formation); Regional Gross Domestic Product (RGDP) and the regional accounts of households. The gross added value by activity branch and the RGDP are provided both in current and volume variation terms.
- 3.2Classification system
- Clasificaciones utilizadas
The classifications used are those appearing in the ESA 1995 manual:
For the gross added value variables, as well as for the employment and wage earners remuneration ones, activity branches are grouped and codified pursuant to CNAE 2009.
Disaggregation of gross added value on the regional level (NUTS II) published on SRA for years t-1 and t-2 is as follows:
Branch A. Agriculture, livestock, forestry and fishing
Branches B to E. Industry, among which:
Branch C. Manufacturing industry
Branch F. Construction
Branches G to I. Trade, transport, accommodation and catering.
Branch J. Information and communications.
Branch K. Financial and insurance activities.
Branch L. Real estate activities.
Branches M to N. Professional activities.
Branches O to Q. Public administration, health and education.
Branches R to U. Arts and entertainment activities and other services.
On the provincial level (NUTS III) disaggregation is as follows for all years published:
Branch A. Agriculture, livestock, forestry and fishing
Branches B to E. Industry, among which:
Branch C. Manufacturing industry
Branch F. Construction
Branches G to J. Trade, transport, accommodation and catering, information and communications.
Branches K to N. Financial and insurance activities, real estate activities and professional activities.
Branches O to U. Public administration, health, education, arts and entertainment activities and other services.
Moreover, for series years t-3 and prior greater branch disaggregation is published.
- Clasificaciones utilizadas
- 3.3Sector coverage
The Spanish Regional Accounts cover all economic activities within the production boundary (in terms of ESA 1995) developed by all institutional units that make up the Spanish economy.
There are not included personal and domestic services happened at home (except for those provided by salaried domestic personnel and rental of dwellings occupied by their owners), voluntary work activities where no goods are produced, and essentially natural processes which take place without human intervention or management.
- 3.4Statistical concepts and definitions
- Compensation of employees
Compensation of employees is defined as the total remuneration, in cash or in kind, payable by an employer to an employee in return for work done by the latter during the reference period. It is broken down into:
- wages and salaries (D.11)
- employers' social contributions (D.12) - Final consumption expenditure
Consists of the expenditure incurred by resident institutional units on goods and services that are used for the direct satisfaction of individual or collective needs. The institutional sectors that incur expenditure on final consumption are Households, Non-Profit Institutions Serving Households and the General Government.
- Gross Domestic Product at market prices (GDPmp) (The expenditure side)
GDPmp (N 1) is the sum of final consumption (P 30) on the economic territory by households and private non-profit institutions and general government, gross fixed capital formation (P 41), change in stocks (P 42), and the difference between exports (P 50) and imports (P 60).
- Gross Domestic Product at market prices (GDPmp) (The income side)
GDPmp (N 1) is the sum of compensation of employees (R 10), gross operating surplus of the economy (N 2), and taxes linked to production and imports (R 20) less subsidies (R 30).
- Gross Domestic Product at market prices (GDPmp) (The output side)
GDPmp (N 1) is the difference between output of goods and services (P 10) and intermediate consumption (P 20) plus VAT on products (R 21) and net taxes linked to imports (excluding value added tax (VAT)) (R 29).
- Gross Domestic Product (GDP) at market prices
It is the final result of productive activity result of the resident producers.
It can be defined in three ways:
a) Output approach:
The GDP is equal to the sum of the gross value added of the various institutional sectors or the various industries plus taxes and less subsidies on products.
b) Expenditure approach:
GDP is equal to the sum of the final uses of goods and services by resident institutional units (final consumption expenditure and gross capital formation), plus exports minus imports of goods and services.
c) Income approach:
GDP is equal to the sum of the compensation of employees, taxes on production and imports less subsidies, gross operating surplus and mixed income of the total economy. - Operating surplus and mixed income
It is the balance item of the generation of income account. It corresponds to the income received by the rest of production units, not integrated in mixed income due to participation in the productive process. In the case of household unincorporated companies, the balancing item of the operating account implicitly has an element that corresponds to the payment of the work carried out by the owner or his/her family members and that cannot be distinguished from the benefits as entrepreneur. In this case it is Mixed Income.
- Persons employed
Covers all persons (employees or self-employed persons) engaged in productive activity that falls within the production boundary of the national accounts.
- Compensation of employees
- 3.5Statistical unit
The units and groups of units that are used for Regional Accounts are defined based on the type of economical analysis that will be made. One of the basic units used by ESA 1995 is the institutional unit (IU). The institutional unit is an essential point for economic decision-making, and it is characterised by behaviour uniformity and decision autonomy when exercising its main function. Institutional units are grouped in institutional sectors (IS). They can be, for instance, a household, a company or a unit of the General Government.
In practice, institutional units producing goods and services usually carry out several activities at the same time. Therefore, in order to get an effective analysis of the production process, these institutional units have to be divided into units that are smaller and evener from the production approach. Then, there appear the local kind-of-activity units (LKAU), which are gouped in activity branches (AB), and the homogeneous production units (HPU), which are grouped in homogeneous branches (HB).
- 3.6Statistical population
The Spanish Regional Accounts combine data coming from several different statistical sources. The concept of statistical population cannot be strictly applied for Regional Accounts.
- 3.7Reference area
The geographical scope includes the entire Spanish economic territory. The SRA obtains disaggregated data both at Autonomous Community level (including the Autonomous Cities of Ceuta and Melilla) and at province level.
- 3.8Time coverage
The INE carries out the SRA since 1980. Time coverage depends on the base it refers to:
* For base 2008, which is currently in force, there is information availabel from year 2000 to 2013.
* For base 2000, there is information available from year 1995 to 2010.
* For base 1995, there is information available from year 1995 to 2004.
* For base 1986, there is information available from year 1980 to 1996.
- 3.9Base period
The evolution of regional aggregates measured at current prices can be divided into two components: one showing price evolution and another one showing volume movements. The main purpose of estimations at constant prices is to provide measurement of the economic activity where the effect of price variation is removed.
When preparing estimations at constant prices, the most important choice is the base year where estimations will be expressed: Fixed base or mobile base.
Up to the latest base change (reference year 2000), the National Accounts and the Regional Accounts used a fixed base year for the calculation of their estimations at constant prices. This base year was updated from time to time, as it had to express all available temporary series at current prices and at prices of the new base year.
However, the modifications in the structure of base year exchanges that take place over time as consequence of the changes in relative prices, technology, traded products, preferences, etc., they imply a loss of significance and statistical relevance of fixed base valuations.
A solution for the relevance loss problem consists on reviewing the base as frequently as the estimation is made. Then, estimations at prices of the previous year are obtained. These estimations are what we call links. In this way, there would not exist one single base year but it would change as the estimations progress with time. This way of acting provides relevant estimations at constant prices but, however, a direct comparison can only be made between two consecutive years. The preparation of an homogeneous series representing the full year sequence requires the chaining of all the links (which are made by using Laspeyres formula for volume variations). It is the reference year that defines the scale of the chained index (by making 100), while the temporary base is mobile. As there are as many bases as pairs of consecutive years, the chained valuation lacks of a fixed base (mobile base).
The Annual National Accounts chained volume measurements are stipulated according to the European Commission's Decision no. 98/715, which establishes it as compulsory for transfer of data from the National Statistics Institutes to the EU statistics office (Eurostat). Although there is no equivalent legal framework for the SRA, for consistency reasons we have adopted also this new methodology for the Annual Accounts since its entering in force (since May 2005, when it was first published with 2000 as reference year).
Currently, after the recent base change (November 2011), the reference year for volume chained indices is 2008.
- 3.1Data description
- 4Unit of measure
- 4.1Unit of measure
- 4.1Unit of measure
- 5Reference period
- 5.1Reference period
The accounting period is the calendar year.
Data referred to the period: Anual A: 2013
- 5.1Reference period
- 6Institutional mandate
- 6.1Legal acts and other agreements
The compilation and dissemination of the data are governed by the Statistical Law No. 12/1989 "Public Statistical Function" of May 9, 1989, and Law No. 4/1990 of June 29 on National Budget of State for the year 1990" amended by Law No. 13/1996 "Fiscal, administrative and social measures" of December 30, 1996, makes compulsory all statistics included in the National Statistics Plan. The National Statistical Plan 2009-2012 was approved by the Royal Decree 1663/2008. It contains the statistics that must be developed in the four year period by the State General Administration's services or any other entity dependent on it. All statistics included in the National Statistics Plan are statistics for state purposes and are obligatory. The National Statistics Plan 2013-2016, approved by Royal Decree 1658/2012, of 7 December, is the Plan currently implemented. This statistical operation has governmental purposes, and it is included in the National Statistics Plan 2013-2016. (Statistics of the State Administration).
Council Regulation (EC) no. 2223/96 of 25th June 1996, regarding the European System of National and Regional Accounts, contains the reference frame for concepts, definitions, classifications and common accounting rules intented for preparing the National Accounts.
The Regulation currently regulating the transfer of National Accounts data to Eurostat is the Commission Regulation (EU) No. 715/2010 of 10th August 2010, which modifies Regulation no. 2223/96 of the Council regarding national accounts adaptation, after reviewing NACE statistical nomenclature of economic activities review 2 and the statistical classification of products by activities (CPA).The Spanish version of the European Union regulations affecting this statistical operation is available at:
https://www.ine.es/normativa/leyes/UE/minine.htm#30020
- 6.2Data sharing
The exchanges of information needed to elaborate statistics between the INE and the rest of the State statistical offices (Ministerial Departments, independent bodies and administrative bodies depending on the State General Administration), or between these offices and the Autonomic statistical offices, are regulated in the LFEP (Law of the Public Statistic Function). This law also regulates the mechanisms of statistical coordination, and concludes cooperation agreements between the different offices when necessary.
- 6.1Legal acts and other agreements
- 7Confidentiality
- 7.1Confidentiality - policy
The Statistical Law No. 12/1989 specifies that the INE cannot publish, or make otherwise available, individual data or statistics that would enable the identification of data for any individual person or entity. Regulation (EC) No 223/2009 on European statistics stipulates the need to establish common principles and guidelines ensuring the confidentiality of data used for the production of European statistics and the access to those confidential data with due account for technical developments and the requirements of users in a democratic society
- 7.2Confidentiality - data treatment
INE provides information on the protection of confidentiality at all stages of the statistical process: INE questionnaires for the operations in the national statistical plan include a legal clause protecting data under statistical confidentiality. Notices prior to data collection announcing a statistical operation notify respondents that data are subject to statistical confidentiality at all stages. For data processing, INE employees have available the INE data protection handbook, which specifies the steps that should be taken at each stage of processing to ensure reporting units' individual data are protected. The microdata files provided to users are anonymised.
The Spanish Regional Accounts are a statistical operation included in the National Statistical Plan, therefore subject to the Law on Public Statistical Services dated 9th May 1989, and therefore, their data is protected by Statistical Secrecy at all stages of their compilation.
- 7.1Confidentiality - policy
- 8Release policy
- 8.1Release calendar
The advance release calendar that shows the precise release dates for the coming year is disseminated in the last quarter of each year.
- 8.2Release calendar access
The calendar is disseminated on the INEs Internet website (Publications Calendar)
- 8.3User access
The data are released simultaneously according to the advance release calendar to all interested parties by issuing the press release. At the same time, the data are posted on the INE's Internet website (www.ine.es/en) almost immediately after the press release is issued. Also some predefined tailor-made requests are sent to registered users. Some users could receive partial information under embargo as it is publicly described in the European Statistics Code of Practice
- 8.1Release calendar
- 9Frequency of dissemination
- 9.1Frequency of dissemination
The data is disseminated annually.
- 9.1Frequency of dissemination
- 10Accessibility and clarity
- 10.1News release
The results of the statistical operations are normally disseminated by using press releases that can be accessed via both the corresponding menu and the Press Releases Section in the web
- 10.2Publications
Users of the regional accounts might access data from base 2008 via the INE website. Specifically, there are the following links:
Functional approach. GDP and its components. This includes:
- Accounting Series:
· Press release: it contains a summary of the regional economy situation, paying particular attention of the evolution of GDP and of the disposable income per inhabitant in every Autonomous Community.
· Main Results: where GDP estimations (at market prices and also per capita) and population figures at provincial and regional levels are presented, as well as volume regional variations.
· Detailed results: it contains the information of the whole economy at regional and provincial levels disaggregated by economic activity branches.
- Homogeneous Series:
· Detailed results: it contains the information of the whole economy at regional and provincial levels disaggregated by economic activity branches.
Institutional approach: Household income distribution accounts. This includes:
· Press release: it contains a summary of the regional economy situation, paying particular attention of the evolution of GDP and of the disposable income per inhabitant in every Autonomous Community.
· Main Results: where Gross Disposable Household Income estimation (absolute and per capita data) is presented both at regional and provincial levels.
· Detailed results: it contains the information of the Primary Income Assignment Account and of the Secondary Income Distribution Account both at regional and provincial levels, as well as the Redistribution of Income in Kind Account at the Autonomous Community level.
In the INE website it is possible to obtain information regarding other SRA bases (base 2000, 1995 and 1986).
There is the possibility to access the series published by the SRA through the EUROSTAT database.
- 10.3On-line database
INEbase is the system the INE uses to store statistical information on the Internet. It contains all the information the INE produces in electronic formats. The primary organisation of the information follows the theme-based classification of the Inventory of Statistical Operations of the State General Administration . The basic unit of INEbase is the statistical operation, defined as the set of activities that lead to obtaining statistical results on a determined sector or topic using data collected individually
Information about the SRA can be obtained in the next link:
- 10.4Micro-data access
A lot of statistical operations disseminate public domain anonymized files, available free of charge for downloading in the INE website Microdata Section
Due to the nature of the National Accounts, there is not microdata available.
- 10.5Other
- 10.6Documentation on methodology
In the following link there is information about regional methods:
- 10.7Quality documentation
- 10.1News release
- 11Quality management
- 11.1Quality assurance
Quality assurance framework for the INE statistics is based on the ESSCoP, the European Statistics Code of Practice made by EUROSTAT. The ESSCoP is made up of 15 principles, gathered in three areas: Institutional Environment, Processes and Products. Each principle is associated with some indicators which make possible to measure it. In order to evaluate quality, EUROSTAT provides different tools: the indicators mentioned above, Self-assessment based on the DESAP model, peer review, user satisfaction surveys and other proceedings for evaluation.
- 11.2Quality assessment
With the purpose of ensuring the strict implementation of ESA-95 concepts, National and Regional Accounts are monitored periodically by Eurostat.
- 11.1Quality assurance
- 12Relevance
- 12.1User needs
Regional accounts have their origin in the need for breaken down information of national aggregates at the Aoutonomous Community and province levels. The information provided allows to analise and assess the estructure and evolution of regional economies, and it servers as a statistical base for the design, execution and monitoring of regional policies.
Moreover, as it is a summary statistics operation, SRA makes it possible to identify omissions and improvements in the Spanish statistical system.
- 12.2User satisfaction
The INE has carried out general user satisfaction surveys in 2007, 2010 and 2013, and it plans to continue doing so every three years. The purpose of these surveys is to find out what users think about the quality of the information of the INE statistics and the extent to which their needs of information are covered. In addition, additional surveys are carried out in order to acknowledge better other fields such as dissemination of the information, quality of some publications...
On the INE website, in its section Methods and Projects / Quality and Code of Practice / INE quality management / User surveys are available surveys conducted to date.(Click next link)
The INE carries out the User Satisfaction Survey, which pays particular attention to Accounting as one of its rubrics is devoted to it. This allows us to know the opinion of users about it.
- 12.3Completeness
- 12.1User needs
- 13Accuracy and reliability
- 13.1Overall accuracy
- 13.2Sampling error
Spanish Regional National Accounts is a summary statistics operation and not a survey, and therefore the concepts of sampling errors and non-sampling errors are not applicable.
Nevertheless, it is indirectly affected by those errors due to the fact that among its information sources there are several surveys.
- 13.3Non-sampling error
Spanish Regional National Accounts is a summary statistics operation and not a survey, and therefore the concepts of sampling errors and non-sampling errors are not applicable.
Nevertheless, it is indirectly affected by those errors due to the fact that among its information sources there are several surveys.
- 13.1Overall accuracy
- 14Timeliness and punctuality
- 14.1Timeliness
A flash estimate of the SRA is released before 90 days after the reference period ends.
The full estimation of the SRA is released the last day of the year subesequent to the reference period at the latest, pursuant to the Regulation regulating the transmission of data regarding National Accounts of the Statistics Institutes of the EU Member States ((EU) Regulation No. 715/20101).
- 14.2Punctuality
The results of the Spanish Regional Accounts are released on time accoding to the structural statistics publication calendar of the INE.
- 14.1Timeliness
- 15Coherence and Comparability
- 15.1Comparability - geographical
The ESA 1995 methodology used by all EU member countries allows comparing regional accounts estimations.
- 15.2Comparability - over time
In November 2011 the series of National Accounts aggregates with reference year 2008 started being published. This base change was maingly due to the implementation of the new CNAE 2009, but it has brought a series of statistical changes typical of any base change operation.
The current base (base 2008) has homogeneous series from year 2000 to the last published year.
In base 2000 there are homogeneous series from 1995 to 2010.
- 15.3Coherence - cross domain
The Spanish Regional Accounts are coherent with the territorial Public Administration Accounts prepared by the General State Administration Intervention (GSAI). Implicitly, through the neccesary adjustment to the Spanish Regional Accounts, they are also coherent with the Public Administration Accounts prepared by the General State Administration Intervention (GSAI), with the Foreign Trade Statistics of the Department of Customs and with the Balance of Payments.
- 15.4Coherence - internal
The regional estimations of all aggregates are consistent with the annual figures, within the framework of the ESA 1995 price and volume measurements.
The first SRA estimation is consistent with the Spanish Quarterly National Accounts data.
- 15.1Comparability - geographical
- 16Cost and burden
- 16.1Cost and burden
The estimation of the budgetary credit necessary to finance these statistics, as foreseen in the 2014 Annual Programme, comes to a total of 79.84 thousand euros.
There is no burden to informants, as the Spanish Regional Accounts are prepared by using information provided by other statistics.
- 16.1Cost and burden
- 17Data revision
- 17.1Data revision - policy
The Spanish Regional Accounts data is reviewed consistently with the Spanish Annual National Accounts data review programme. When the Spanish Annual National Accounts data is reviewed every August, the Spanish Regional Accounts publishes regional series that are coherent with the new annual data series.
On the other hand, a flash estimate (first estimation) of the real GDP is release before the 90 days prior to the reference period end, which is reviewed at the end of the year when new information is available.
- 17.2Data revision - practice
There are several factors that determine SRA estimations reviews:
* Changes in the Spanish Annual National Accounts.
* Incorporation of new regional statistical sources.
When regional data are first released, they are provisional. Regional final data is released four years after the end of the reference year (when annual estimations are final).
- 17.1Data revision - policy
- 18Statistical processing
- 18.1Source data
The SRA includes and blends myriad short-term and long-term sources of economic information. Explicitly, we can talk about two types of quantitative statistical information:
* Direct information: it reports about the level of an accounting aggregate.
* Indirect information: it reports about the variation between two periods of an aggregate or a part of it.
The availability of the different information types affects both the quantity of information that regional accounts are able to provide (extent and breakdown) and the way those initial sources would be used. For indirect information, that base statistical data has to be complemented with statistical procedures.
Among the indirect indicators used, worth noting are the following ones:
* Production statistics. Some examples of them are: Industrial Production Index, Services Sector Activity Indicators, Retail Trade Indices, Passenger transport, Hotel Tourist Short-Term Trends, Holiday Dwelling Occupancy Survey, Construction Activity Indicators, Agricultural and Livestock Production, etc.
* Cost and employment statistics, such as the Economically Active Population Survey or the Social Security Membership Statistics.
* Price statistics, such as the Consumer Price Index, the Industrial Price Indices, the Housing Price Indices, the Agricultural Price Indices, etc.
* Administrative registers and other quantitative sources.
- 18.2Frequency of data collection
Annual
- 18.3Data collection
Data collection techniques might vary depending on the type of source, the availability date of data, etc.
On a general basis, data are sent to the regional accounts unit by the different units which prepare them, although sometimes, if the disaggregation level is sufficient and the release date fits the SRA work schedule, the information can be obtained directly from the corresponding database.
- 18.4Data validation
Once base indicators are selected, they undergo a series of treatments: outlier identification, error filtering, estimation missing data, adjustment to the National Accounts requirements, among others.
- 18.5Data compilation
The SRA preparation process can be structured into several stages:
1. Obtaining of the base information and its adjustment to the National Accounts concepts.
2. Information treatment.
Once we have the base information, it undergoes a series of treatments such as outlier identification, error filtering, estimation of missing data and adjustment to the National Accounts requirements.
3. Implementation of regionalisation processes as foreseen in ESA 1995.
According to the information obtained in each case, we will apply ascending, descending or mixed methods.
4. Adjustment to the Spanish National Accounts data.
The Spanish Regional Accounts publishes the regional macroeconomic aggregate series. In both cases, there is temporary coherence with annual or quarterly aggregates.
5. Results analysis
Finally, a global asessment of the information is made. Several coherence and viability controls are carried out.
- 18.6Adjustment
- 18.1Source data
- 19Comment
- 19.1Comment
For further information about ESA 1995, visit the following link:
http://forum.europa.eu.int/irc/dsis/nfaccount/info/data/esa95/esa95-new.htm
For further information about regional methods, visit the following link:
- 19.1Comment
Contact