Toward the Development of Sectoral Financial Positions and Flows in a From-Whom-to-Whom Framework

The global crisis of 2008 highlighted the importance of understanding financial interconnectedness among the various sectors of an economy and between them and their counterparties in the rest of the world. In addition, the financial interconnectedness is also to be understood as an integral part of the linkages between real and financial economies. Although the System of National Accounts (SNA) provides an overarching framework for the development of such macroeconomic statistics, application of this kind of analysis has been hampered by the lack of adequate data. This article reviews the attributes of the SNA as a framework for integrated macroeconomic accounts, explores application of SNA principles for developing data on inter-sectoral financial linkages, reviews some important experiences that may be of use in the development of fully integrated macroeconomic accounts, and outlines activities and steps for implementing sectoral accounts and balance sheets, including sectoral financial positions and flows in a from-whom-to-whom framework.