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For more information on this release:
E-mail: nat_acc@cso.ie Michael Connolly (+353) 1 498 4006 Peter Culhane (+353) 1 498 4382
For general information on CSO statistics:
information@cso.ie (+353) 21 453 5000 On-line ISSN 2009-5600
CSO statistical release, , 11am

Quarterly Institutional Sector Accounts Non-Financial

Quarter 4 2017 and Year 2017 (Preliminary)

Gross Saving by Institutional Sector€million
Non-Financial Corporations S.11Financial Corporations S.12General Government S.13Households incl. NPISH S.14 & S.15
201686,5602,8123,0466,639
201791,8933,0594,8878,846

Increased Saving for All Sectors of the Economy in 2017

Composition of Gross Saving for Total Economy (S.1) by Sector 2013-2017
go to full release

Preliminary estimates for 2017 indicate that gross saving (B.8g) for the economy as a whole increased by €9,634m to €108,780m, compared to €99,146m in 2016 (see Summary Table). All sectors increased their gross saving, continuing a recent trend, as illustrated in Figure 1.

For households, gross saving went from €6,639m in 2016 to €8,846m in 2017. This change is driven by households' gross income (B.6g, up 5.3%) rising faster than expenditure on goods and services (P.3, up 3.2%). The gross saving ratio of households, which expresses saving as a percentage of total disposable income (B.6g + D.8), increased from 6.8% in 2016 to 8.6% in 2017 (see Background Notes).

In the last quarter of 2017, the seasonally adjusted saving ratio was 8.1%, down from 8.7% in quarter 3.

The seasonally adjusted data series which includes Gross Disposable Income, Personal Consumption of Goods and Services and Gross Saving of the Household incl. NPISH sector is available on our StatBank Database: Click here. The entire unadjusted series for all variables published in this release are also available at the same link. See Background Notes for definitions of the terms used. These estimates are preliminary and will be subject to revision.

Increase in Gross Saving of Government (S.13)

The gross saving of Government amounted to €4,887m in 2017, an improvement of €1,841m on the 2016 saving of €3,046m. An increase of €1,740m in income and corporation taxes (D.5) was the biggest contributor to the change in gross saving.

Capital spending by government continued to exceed gross saving in 2017, leaving a net borrowing requirement (B.9) of €1,208m. This borrowing was down from €1,979m the previous year, and 2017 was the seventh successive year of reduced borrowing since the peak of €53,709m in 2010.

Non-Financial (S.11) and Financial (S.12) Corporations

The gross saving of non-financial corporations was €91,893m in 2017 – an increase of €5,333m compared with the 2016 figure of €86,560m. Their profits (B.2g) increased by €11,943m and their income flowing in from subsidiaries abroad (D.42 + D.43) increased by €2,546m while their payments flowing out to parent companies abroad (D.42 + D.43) only increased by €8,333m. While gross saving increased by €5,333m, after the capital account items the net lending increased by just €3,618m, from €6,595m to €10,213m. The sharp decline in capital investment (P.51g, down €19,551m), due to reduced intellectual property purchases from abroad, was more than offset in the capital account by a large increase in imports of goodwill and marketing assets (part of NP, up €21,075m).

Financial corporations had gross saving of €3,059m in 2017, up from €2,812m the previous year. The continued growth of the investment fund sector is reflected in payments of 'other investment income' (D.44) growing by €5,485m in the year to €41,043m, more than double what it was four years ago.

Rest of World Sector (S.2)

The net borrowing (B.9) by the rest of the world from Ireland amounted to €10,218m in 2017, compared with a net borrowing of €4,128m in 2016. This net borrowing is the equal and opposite of the total Irish economy's lending, and the changes are dominated by the large transactions of the non-financial corporations.

Summary Table Quarterly Accounts by Institutional Sector, Q1 2016 - Q4 2017€million
  Key VariablesQuarterS.2 Rest of WorldS.1 Total EconomyS.1N Not SectorisedS.11 Non-Financial CorporationsS.12 Financial CorporationsS.13 General GovernmentS.14+S.15 Households incl. NPISH
(a)B.1*gGross Domestic ProductQ1 2016 64,6085,49743,2273,9256,1255,833
   Q2 2016 65,4474,37944,7654,3216,0285,954
   Q3 2016 70,3515,63747,8484,5525,8306,483
   Q4 2016 75,1624,71852,9615,1185,7666,598
   2016 275,56720,232188,80117,91623,74824,870
   Q1 2017 68,0185,54445,6774,2506,4626,085
   Q2 2017 71,6884,11349,6044,7976,3596,814
   Q3 2017 78,1286,03453,2905,1356,1507,519
   Q4 2017 78,3185,12354,8985,3586,0816,857
   2017 296,15220,815203,46919,54025,05327,275
           
(b)B.2g/B.3gGross Operating Surplus /Q1 2016 38,8762130,3842,3251,0705,077
 Mixed incomeQ2 2016 40,5212131,6142,4661,0705,349
   Q3 2016 44,0832334,2722,7751,0705,943
   Q4 2016 50,4222439,0353,3111,0706,982
   2016 173,90289135,30410,8784,28023,351
   Q1 2017 40,7692231,8962,4361,0935,323
   Q2 2017 45,8862335,7282,8741,0936,168
   Q3 2017 50,5102539,1743,2771,0936,941
   Q4 2017 52,2072540,4483,4211,0937,220
   2017 189,37296147,24712,0074,37125,652
         
(c)D.1_D.4Net Primary IncomeQ1 2016 13,2400-10,405-1,4104,32120,734
   Q2 2016 14,1050-9,825-1,9964,64121,286
   Q3 2016 12,7710-11,230-1,6694,60621,063
   Q4 2016 13,7240-10,754-1,2563,80021,933
   2016 53,8390-42,214-6,33017,36885,016
   Q1 2017 14,8920-11,243-6794,89821,916
   Q2 2017 10,3500-13,500-3,1184,23722,732
   Q3 2017 13,3310-12,133-1,6374,98422,118
   Q4 2017 14,2900-11,279-1,5864,27222,884
   2017 52,8630-48,156-7,02118,39189,649
           
(d)B.5gGross National IncomeQ1 2016 52,1162119,9789155,39125,811
  = (b + c)Q2 2016 54,6272121,7894705,71126,635
   Q3 2016 56,8542323,0411,1075,67627,007
   Q4 2016 64,1452428,2812,0554,87028,915
   2016 227,7418993,0904,54721,648108,367
   Q1 2017 55,6612220,6531,7575,99127,238
   Q2 2017 56,2362322,228-2445,33028,900
   Q3 2017 63,8412527,0411,6406,07629,059
   Q4 2017 66,4972529,1691,8345,36430,103
   2017 242,2359699,0914,98622,761115,301
           
(e)D.5_D.7Net Current TransfersQ1 2016 -9440-6684722,135-2,883
   Q2 2016 -6650-2,113514,259-2,863
   Q3 2016 -8160-9084082,290-2,606
   Q4 2016 -12020-2,841-866,835-5,110
   2016 -3,6270-6,53084515,519-13,461
   Q1 2017 -9200-5715272,475-3,350
   Q2 2017 -1,0710-2,481-414,667-3,215
   Q3 2017 -1,0520-1,0493822,904-3,289
   Q4 2017 -1,1400-3,097-1567,583-5,470
   2017 -4,1830-7,19871117,629-15,325
           
(f)B.6gGross Disposable IncomeQ1 2016 51,1722119,3101,3877,52622,928
  = (d + e)Q2 2016 53,9612119,6765229,97023,773
   Q3 2016 56,0372322,1331,5147,96624,401
   Q4 2016 62,9442425,4411,96911,70523,805
   2016 224,1148986,5605,39237,16794,906
   Q1 2017 54,7412220,0822,2848,46623,888
   Q2 2017 55,1662319,747-2869,99725,685
   Q3 2017 62,7892525,9922,0228,98025,770
   Q4 2017 65,3572526,0721,67812,94824,633
   2017 238,0539691,8935,69840,39099,976
           
(g)P.3 + D.8Use of Disposable IncomeQ1 2016 -30,78900-635-8,097-22,057
   Q2 2016 -30,27000-643-8,355-21,273
   Q3 2016 -31,01200-646-8,960-21,407
   Q4 2016 -32,89600-657-8,709-23,531
   2016 -124,96800-2,580-34,121-88,267
   Q1 2017 -31,74200-660-8,467-22,615
   Q2 2017 -31,27100-657-8,767-21,848
   Q3 2017 -32,23100-658-9,230-22,342
   Q4 2017 -34,02900-664-9,039-24,325
   2017 -129,27300-2,639-35,504-91,130
           
(h)B.8gGross SavingQ1 2016 20,3822119,310752-571871
  = (f + g)Q2 2016 23,6912119,676-1211,6152,500
   Q3 2016 25,0262322,133869-9932,994
   Q4 2016 30,0482425,4411,3122,996274
   2016 99,1468986,5602,8123,0466,639
   Q1 2017 22,9992220,0821,624-11,273
   Q2 2017 23,8952319,747-9421,2303,837
   Q3 2017 30,5582525,9921,364-2503,428
   Q4 2017 31,3282526,0721,0143,909308
   2017 108,7809691,8933,0594,8878,846
           
(i)Changes in Capital AccountsQ1 2016 -60021-235-34-43583
  Q2 2016 -10,16521-8,203-365-498-1,120
  Q3 2016 -7,88023-6,886-323243-937
  Q4 2016 -13,47924-11,265-421-596-1,222
  2016 -32,12489-26,587-1,144-1,287-3,195
  Q1 2017 -9,24522-7,379-136-721-1,031
   Q2 2017 -19,82123-17,957-333-565-989
   Q3 2017 -2,52125-742-79-515-1,210
   Q4 2017 -75825775-157-556-845
   2017 -32,34596-25,303-705-2,356-4,077
           
(j)P.51CConsumption of Fixed CapitalQ1 2016 15,539 13,1782709351,156
   Q2 2016 15,600 13,2332719351,161
   Q3 2016 15,692 13,3162739351,168
   Q4 2016 16,062 13,6502809351,198
   2016 62,893 53,3771,0943,7384,683
   Q1 2017 16,320 13,8832859351,218
   Q2 2017 16,538 14,0792899351,235
   Q3 2017 16,632 14,1642909351,243
   Q4 2017 16,727 14,2502929351,250
   2017 66,217 56,3761,1563,7384,946
           
(k)B.9Net lending (+) / Net borrowing (-)Q1 2016-4,2434,243425,898448-1,942-202
  = (h + i) - jQ2 20162,074-2,07442-1,759-757182219
   Q3 2016-1,4531,453451,931273-1,685889
   Q4 2016-506506495266121,465-2,145
   2016-4,1284,1301786,595575-1,979-1,239
   Q1 20172,566-2,56644-1,1801,203-1,657-976
   Q2 201712,464-12,46446-12,289-1,564-2691,612
Q3 2017-11,40511,4055011,086994-1,700974
Q4 2017-13,84313,8435112,5975652,418-1,788
2017-10,21810,21819110,2131,198-1,208-177
Table 1.2 Generation of Income Account€million
RESOURCES (RECEIVED)S.1+S.2 Sum Over SectorsS.2 Rest of WorldS.1 Total EconomyS.1N Not SectorisedS.11 Non-Financial CorporationsS.12 Financial CorporationsS.13 General GovernmentS.14+S.15 Households incl. NPISH
B.1*gGross Domestic Product  78,3185,12354,8985,3586,0816,857
D.3Subsidies, Received1,888 1,888276460001,153
USES (PAID)
D.1Compensation of Employees22,00813521,873 14,4031,8514,989630
D.2Taxes on Production and Imports, Paid6,127 6,1275,374507860160
B.2g/ B.3gGross Operating Surplus/ Gross Mixed Income  52,2072540,4483,4211,0937,220
Table 1.3 Allocation of Primary Income Account€million
RESOURCES (RECEIVED)S.1+S.2 Sum Over SectorsS.2 Rest of WorldS.1 Total EconomyS.1N Not SectorisedS.11 Non-Financial CorporationsS.12 Financial CorporationsS.13 General GovernmentS.14+S.15 Households incl. NPISH
B.2g/ B.3gGross Operating Surplus/ Gross Mixed income  52,2072540,4483,4211,0937,220
D.1Compensation of Employees22,00816021,848    21,848
D.2Taxes on Production and Imports, Received6,127886,039   6,039 
D.4Property Income55,84033,20022,640 5,83615,2702421,292
D.41Interest17,0685,14311,925 -25311,94250186
D.42Distributed Income of Corporations8,9285,4023,526 1812,500165679
D.43Reinvested Earnings on Direct Foreign Investment19,77613,5066,269 5,90936000
D.44Other Investment Income9,9929,148843 04670376
D.45Rents77 77 002651
USES (PAID)        
D.3Subsidies, Paid1,8881,289599   599 
D.4Property Income55,84020,20235,638 17,11516,8561,409257
D.41Interest17,06810,7806,288 1,4963,1771,409206
D.42Distributed Income of Corporations8,9282,6866,242 5,71253000
D.43Reinvested Earnings on Direct Foreign Investment19,7766,26913,506 9,8823,62400
D.44Other Investment Income9,9924679,524 09,52400
D.45Rents77 77 260051
B.5gGross National Income  66,4972529,1691,8345,36430,103
Table 1.5 Secondary Distribution of Income Account€million
RESOURCES (RECEIVED)S.1+S.2 Sum Over SectorsS.2 Rest of WorldS.1 Total EconomyS.1N Not SectorisedS.11 Non-Financial CorporationsS.12 Financial CorporationsS.13 General GovernmentS.14+S.15 Households incl. NPISH
B.5gGross National Income 66,4972529,1691,8345,36430,103
D.5Current Taxes on Income, Wealth, etc.11,1312011,112   11,112 
D.61Social Contributions4,86504,865 01,4723,3930
D.62Social Benefits other than Social Transfers in kind6,959816,877    6,877
D.7Other Current Transfers6,7042,3124,391 1372,306741,875
USES (PAID)        
D.5Current Taxes on Income, Wealth, etc.11,1311911,112 2,99180707,315
D.61Net Social Contributions4,86504,865    4,865
D.62Social Benefits other than Social Transfers in kind6,959796,880 08076,0730
D.7Other Current Transfers6,7041,1765,528 2432,3209232,043
B.6gGross Disposable Income  65,3572526,0721,67812,94824,633
Table 1.6 Use of Disposable Income Account€million
RESOURCES (RECEIVED)S.1+S.2 Sum Over SectorsS.2 Rest of WorldS.1 Total EconomyS.1N Not SectorisedS.11 Non-Financial CorporationsS.12 Financial CorporationsS.13 General GovernmentS.14+S.15 Households incl. NPISH
B.6gGross Disposable Income  65,3572526,0721,67812,94824,633
D.8Adjustment for the Change in Pension Entitlements6640664    664
USES (PAID)        
P.3Final Consumption Expenditure  34,029   9,03924,990
D.8Adjustment for the Change in Pension Entitlements6640664  664  
B.8gGross Saving  31,3282526,0721,0143,909308
Table 1.7 External Account€million
RESOURCES (RECEIVED)S.1+S.2 Sum Over SectorsS.2 Rest of WorldS.1 Total EconomyS.1N Not SectorisedS.11 Non-Financial CorporationsS.12 Financial CorporationsS.13 General GovernmentS.14+S.15 Households incl. NPISH
P.7Imports of Goods and Services 67,853      
D.1 to D.8Primary Incomes and Current Transfers116,18735,86180,325     
USES (PAID)        
P.6Exports of Goods and Services 95,722      
B.11External Balance of Goods & Services -27,869      
D.1 to D.8Primary Incomes and Current Transfers116,18722,90193,286     
B.12Current External Balance -14,908      
Table 1.8 Change in Net Worth due to Saving and Capital Transfers Account€million
LIABILITIESS.1+S.2 Sum Over SectorsS.2 Rest of WorldS.1 Total EconomyS.1N Not SectorisedS.11 Non-Financial CorporationsS.12 Financial CorporationsS.13 General GovernmentS.14+S.15 Households incl. NPISH
B.8gGross Saving 31,3282526,0721,0143,909308
B.12Current External Balance-14,908      
D.9Capital Transfers1,07551,070 3300376364
ASSETS        
D.9Capital Transfers1,07501,075 730694308
P.51cConsumption of Fixed Capital   16,727 14,2502929351,250
B.10.1Changes in Net Worth due to Saving and Capital Transfers-307-14,90314,5962512,0797212,656-886
Table 1.9 Acquisition of Non-Financial Assets Account€million
LIABILITIESS.1+S.2 Sum Over SectorsS.2 Rest of WorldS.1 Total EconomyS.1N Not SectorisedS.11 Non-Financial CorporationsS.12 Financial CorporationsS.13 General GovernmentS.14+S.15 Households incl. NPISH
B.10.1Changes in Net Worth due to Saving and Capital Transfers-307-14,90314,5962512,0797212,656-886
P.51cConsumption of Fixed Capital 16,727 16,727 14,2502929351,250
ASSETS        
P.5Gross Capital Formation16,420 16,420-2512,7764491,0672,152
NPAcquisitions less Disposals of Non-Produced Assets0-1,0611,061 95601050
B.9Net Lending (+)/ Net Borrowing (-)-0-13,84313,8435112,5975652,418-1,788

Background Notes

Description of Institutional Sectors

In the sector accounts, Institutional Sectors are distinguished not in terms of the nature of their production activity (such as agriculture, industry, services, etc.) but rather in terms primarily of the institutional form of the units that make them up. Thus companies, whether engaged in commercial non-financial or financial business, are grouped in a different sector from households, even though the latter are in many cases also engaged in commercial production, and from government or other non-market producers such as voluntary agencies.

Institutional Sectors

The classification system is that of the European System of Accounts 2010 (ESA2010). The sectors and sub-sectors distinguished in the present publication are as follows:

S.1 Resident Economy is the sum of all the sectors of the domestic economy.

S.11 Non-Financial Corporations are corporate bodies producing goods and non-financial services on a commercial basis. They include public limited companies, private companies and other corporate forms of business, whether owned by residents (including the government) or non-residents or both. In particular, therefore, Irish subsidiaries of foreign companies and the Irish branches of foreign companies operating in Ireland on a branch basis are included; while the foreign subsidiaries of Irish companies and the foreign branches of Irish companies operating abroad are excluded (they form part of the Rest of World sector S.2). The business activities of self-employed persons (quasi-corporations) are in principle to be included here if separate accounts are available for statistical purposes. Under the implementation of ESA2010, entities which operate as holding companies for non-financial corporations are now classified in the financial sector.

S.12 Financial Corporations are corporate bodies producing financial services on a commercial basis. As with S.11, they can take various legal forms, with a range of ownership arrangements. They include monetary financial institutions, other financial intermediaries, financial auxiliaries and insurance corporations and pension funds.

S.13 General Government consists of central and local government. Central government includes the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund (formerly the NPRF), and non-commercial agencies owned and funded by government, but does not include commercial state-owned companies (which are proper to S.11 or S.12 as appropriate).

S.1M: S.14 + S.15 Households and Non-Profit Institutions Serving Households. S.14 consists of persons in their capacity as holders of financial assets or as borrowers. The business assets and liabilities of unincorporated self-employed persons are also mainly reflected in this sector. S.15 consists of non-profit institutions such as charities and non-commercial agencies not owned by the government, such as some schools and hospitals.

S.2 Rest of World. The figures represent the economy's transactions with non-residents. The conceptual definition is the same as in the Balance of Payments (BOP) statistics. In particular, non-residents include foreign subsidiaries of Irish companies, the foreign branches of Irish companies that operate abroad on a branch basis, and the head offices of foreign companies that operate in Ireland on a branch basis.

S.1N Not Sectorised. In the non-financial accounts an additional residual sector is used to report taxes and subsidies on products (D.21) in the Generation of Income Account (Account 1.2) as it is not possible to allocate these amounts to Institutional Sectors. In addition, throughout these accounts S.1N is used to report the amounts that appear as the statistical discrepancy in the National Income and Expenditure GDP accounts, arising from the use of two independent estimates of GDP (from the Income and Expenditure approaches). In the Annual National Accounts NIE tables 3 and 5, the official estimate of GDP is reported as the average of the two measures, and the discrepancy is therefore displayed as half the difference between the two independent estimates (and thus with different signs in the two tables). The discrepancy is projected forward on a quarterly basis in line with the trends in the Expenditure components and is presented in Table 2 of the Quarterly National Accounts. In the Quarterly Sector Accounts it appears in Gross Domestic Product, the opening item in the Generation of Income Account and is then carried through successive accounts via the balancing item. In the final non-financial account, the full amount of the discrepancy then emerges as the unallocated net lending or borrowing in the economy.

Description of Detailed Non-Financial Accounts

Sector accounts present a coherent overview of all economic processes and the roles played by the various sectors. Each economic process is described in a separate account. The accounts describe successively: generation of income, primary and secondary income distribution, final consumption, redistribution by means of capital transfers, and capital formation. Note that the Production Account (1.1) from the Annual Accounts is not included in these quarterly accounts as the data is not available on a quarterly basis. The accounts record economic transactions, distinguishing between uses and resources (e.g. the resources side of the transaction category Interest (D.41) records the amounts of interest receivable by the different sectors of the economy and the uses side shows interest payable) with a special item to balance the two sides of each account. By passing on the balancing item from one account to the next a connection is created between successive accounts.

The accounts are compiled for the total economy and include accounts for separate domestic sectors and the Rest of World sector. In this way the sector accounts describe:

  • for each economic process the role of each sector, for instance General Government in income redistribution and Financial Corporations in financing.
  • for each sector all economic transactions and their relation with other domestic sectors and the Rest of World.

The successive accounts are explained in more detail below. 

Current Accounts

1.1 Production Account

This account is not presented in the Quarterly Non-Financial Accounts as quarterly data is not available.

1.2 Generation of Income Account

This account displays the transactions through which Gross Domestic Product at market prices is distributed to labour (compensation of employees), capital (operating surplus) and government (the balance of taxes and subsidies on production). The balancing item for the Household and NPISH sector in this account is called mixed income, because apart from operating surplus it also contains compensation for work by self-employed persons and their family members. Gross Operating Surplus/Gross Mixed Income (B.2g/B.3g) is the balancing item for the entire account.

1.3 Allocation of Primary Income Account

This account records, as resources, the income from direct participation in the production process, as well as property income received in exchange for the use of land, financial resources and other intangible assets. In addition, this account records the taxes on production and imports received by the government. On the uses side, property income (including interest, dividends, reinvested earnings and land rent) is recorded as well as the subsidies paid by the government.

On this account the interest paid and received are recorded excluding imputed bank services (financial intermediation services indirectly measured - FISIM). In the national accounts insurance technical reserves are seen as a liability of insurance enterprises and pension funds to policyholders. Therefore, the receipts from investing these reserves are recorded as payments from insurance enterprises and pension funds to households, under Other Investment Income (D.44). The balancing item of this account for each sector is Gross National Income (B.5g). The Primary Income for the total economy is the National Income.

1.4 Memorandum-Entrepreneurial Income Account

This account is not presented in the Quarterly series.

1.5 Secondary Distribution of Income Account

The Secondary Distribution of Income Account shows how primary income is redistributed by means of current taxes on income and wealth, social contributions (including contributions to pension schemes), social benefits (including pension benefits) and other current transfers. The balancing item of this account is Gross Disposable Income (B.6g). For the consuming sectors (Households, NPISH and General Government) this item is passed on to Use of Disposable Income Account (1.6). For the other sectors the disposable income is generally equal to saving. This is then passed on to the Change in Net Worth due to Saving and Capital Transfers Account (1.8).

1.6 Use of Disposable Income Account

This account shows the element of disposable income that is spent on final consumption and also the element that is saved. As mentioned above, final consumption only exists for Households, NPISH and General Government. The net equity of Households in pension funds is seen as a financial asset that belongs to Households. Changes in these reserves need to be included in the saving of Households. However, contributions to pension schemes and pension benefits have already been recorded on the Secondary Distribution of Income Account (1.5) as social contributions and social benefits. Therefore, an adjustment is needed in the saving of Households to include the change in pension funds reserves on which they have a definite claim. This adjustment is called Adjustment for the Change in Pension Entitlements (D.8). There is no need for a similar adjustment concerning life insurance because life insurance premiums and benefits are not recorded as current transactions. The balancing item for this account is Gross Saving (B.8g).

1.7 External Account

This account records the summarised transactions of the Rest of World Sector (S.2), including on the uses side exports of goods and services, primary incomes and current transfers receivable. The resources side of this account includes imports of goods and services together with primary incomes and transfers payable. The balancing item is Current External Balance (B.12), which records the balance on current accounts with the Rest of World.

Capital Accounts

1.8 Change in Net Worth due to Saving and Capital Transfers

On this account the capital transfers are recorded and combined with gross saving and the current external balance. The resulting balancing item is Changes in Net Worth due to Saving and Capital Transfers (B.10.1).

1.9 Acquisition of Non-Financial Assets Account

On this account, Gross Fixed Capital Formation (P.51), Changes in Inventories (P.52) and Acquisitions less Disposals of Valuables and Non-Produced Non-Financial Assets (N.P.) are recorded among the uses. The decline in the value of fixed capital goods caused by consumption of fixed capital goods is recorded among the resources (P.51c). The balancing item is Net Lending(+) or Borrowing(-) (B.9). It shows the amount a sector can lend/invest or has to borrow as a result of its current and capital transactions.

Seasonal Adjustment

Seasonal adjustment is conducted using the direct seasonal adjustment approach. Under this approach, each individual time series is independently adjusted, i.e. aggregate series are adjusted without reference to the component series.

As part of the seasonal adjustment process, ARIMA models are identified for each series based on unadjusted data spanning Q1 1999 to Q1 2017. These models are then applied to the entire series (Q1 1999 to Q4 2017). Seasonal factors and the parameters of the ARIMA models are updated each quarter.

The adjustments are completed by applying the X-13-ARIMA model, developed by the U.S. Census Bureau to the unadjusted data. This methodology estimates seasonal factors while also taking into consideration factors that impact on the quality of the seasonal adjustment such as, for example:

  • calendar effects, e.g. the timing of Easter
  • outliers, temporary changes and level shifts in the series

For additional information on the use of X-13-ARIMA, see https://www.census.gov/srd/www/x13as/.

Derived Seasonally Adjusted Household Saving Ratio

Seasonally adjusted estimates of Household Saving are compiled using the indirect seasonal adjustment approach. Under this approach the two main aggregates, Household Disposable Income (B.6g + D.8) and Final Consumption Expenditure of Households (P.3), are independently adjusted. The derived saving is the difference between the two adjusted series of Household Disposable Income and Final Expenditure of Households. This method for estimating the seasonally adjusted value for a small net residual of two large aggregates, such as Household Saving, is considered to be a more appropriate estimation procedure.

The use of these saving either for financial investment or debt reduction is not recorded in these accounts but is recorded in the financial account (see Quarterly Financial Accounts published by the Central Bank of Ireland and http://www.cso.ie/en/releasesandpublications/ep/p-isanff/isanff2016/ for annual integrated financial and non financial accounts).

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