This course focuses on the conceptual framework of the balance of payments and International Investment Position (IIP) as presented in the fifth edition of the IMF’s Balance of Payments Manual, as well as on the practical aspects of data compilation. Basic concepts, accounting principles, and methods of classification are dealt with in the context of the larger system of economic statistics.

The course examines the coverage and accounting rules of the balance of payments and IIP, the extent of the reporting economy, the double-entry accounting system, valuation, timing, unit of account, and classification of balance of payments items. The sources and methods for collecting the underlying data in respect of the various standard components are presented with special reference to the sources for compiling an IIP as presented in the recently released International Investment Position: A Guide to Data Sources.

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