Page 171 - Invited Paper Session (IPS) - Volume 2

IPS195 Peter van de Ven
Furthermore, Vanoli also presents a concise conceptual foundation for the
broader set of accounts, with reference to four spheres and their related
information systems: economy, people, nature and society. A similar plea for
a new and comprehensive “System of Global and National Accounts”,
including an in-depth analysis and description of how such a system should
look like can be found in Hoekstra (forthcoming). Hoekstra argues for a
distinction of four sets of interrelated accounts, three describing the
environment (Global Environmental Accounts), the society (Global Societal
Accounts) and the economy (Global Economic Accounts), and one describing
distributional aspects (Global Distribution Accounts). A separate set of Global
Quality Accounts is distinguished for the definition and recording of key
indicators that can be derived from the other three accounts, to provide a
summary on whether things are moving in the right direction.

4. The way forward
The development of a full-scale conceptual framework for capturing all
aspects of (sustainable) well-being may be too demanding and time-
consuming. Here, a more pragmatic approach is being proposed, to get things
moving forward relatively quickly. Relatively quickly, as following this
approach, it may still take quite some time to define the conceptual
framework, including the templates, discuss these proposals and have them
endorsed at the international level, and – last but certainly not least – to get
all of this implemented by countries.
th
In its 49 meeting held on 6-9 March 2018, the UN Statistical Commission
agreed to develop guidance notes on three priority areas for which further
clarifications and guidance are needed in the context of the further
development of the 2008 System of National Accounts: (i) digitalisation, (ii)
globalisation, and (iii) well-being and sustainability. For each of these areas,
dedicated Task Forces have been set up in the first half of 2019, with the goal
of delivering draft guidance notes in the course 2020. The Terms of Reference
of the Task Force working on well-being and sustainability includes, in addition
to unpaid household activities, environmental-economic accounting, and
distribution of income, consumption and wealth, the following explicit
reference: “defining a broader framework for capturing economic activities,
well-being and sustainability”. In moving forward quickly, one would prefer to
keep the group of people actively contributing to the drafting of the guidance
notes relatively small, but it is also considered of the utmost importance to
involve, at some stage, specialists from other areas of expertise (environment,
social issues, education, health, time use, etc.) as well. One should avoid at all
costs that the development of this broader framework of “national accounts”
is looked upon as a form of economic imperialism. The objective is to arrive at
a consistent framework, which covers much more than the economy alone.

158 | I S I W S C 2 0 1 9