1. Compiling the EFA: How to overcome data shortages and methodical constraints - the case of Austria Walter Sekot

2. Complying to assumed requirements a three-dimensional challenge
developments
actual
Choices in regard to:
Sources of data
Approaches for deriving the figures requested
Degree of compliance, detail and comprehensiveness
imply trade-offs in terms of consistency
industry
inter-industrial
Beschäftigte: A ca. 3,15 Mio.; FW: ca
BIP: ca. 210 Mrd. €; FW ca. 0,75 Mrd.
national
international

3. EFA: current state in Austria
Table B1 on the economic aggregates of the forestry and logging industry submitted regularly. Official Forestry Accounts are still established based on the previous concept of the Economic Accounts for Forestry (EAF) (with some adaptation) which are supplemented by bridge tables. The EAF and the bridge tables serve as foundation for B1
Tables A1 (wooded land) and A2 (growing stock of timber) submitted for the year 2014; no follow-up yet
No recent or ongoing work as regards the other tables of the EFA some experiences from pilot studies on the IEEAF dating back to 1999
Beschäftigte: A ca. 3,15 Mio.; FW: ca
BIP: ca. 210 Mrd. €; FW ca. 0,75 Mrd.

4. Conceptual framework for establishing the EAF / table B1
Primarily: aggregated data of various industry-specific statistics e.g. volume of harvest; timber prices; production of forest plants; plant protection products; real property tax; forestry subsidies Secondary: industry-specific totals derived from a decomposition of aggregates in the National Accounts (for sake of coherence) e.g.: compensation of employees, certain taxes, FISIM (Financial Intermediation Services Indirectly Measured), research & development Complementary: inferences based on area or cutting volume from data provided by enterprises (forest accountancy data networks, National Forest Enterprise) e.g. other products, energy, maintenance, gross fixed capital formation Subsidiary: expert opinion or mere assumptions for filling data gaps

5. Dealing with data deficits pertaining to B1
Typical problems of missing data: total volume and individual items of intermediate consumption and gross capital formation in those parts of the industry, where no empirical data of institutional units is available such as tree nurseries, services of contractors, forest-related consulting General approach for deriving the total volume: assumed ratios (which are typically held constant) are applied to the figure of the output General approach for deriving individual items: assumed, constant percentages are applied to the totals

6. Filling of gaps at the example of contractors‘ work in 2016
Calculated Output: Mio. €
Assumed cost effectiveness: 1.05
Total of intermediate consumption: / 1.05 = Mio. €
Assumed share of consumption of fixed capital: 20 %
Consumption of fixed capital: * 0.2 = Mio. €
Assumed gross capital formation: 110% of consumption of fixed capital
Gross capital formation: * 1.1 = Mio. €
Assumed share of gross capital formation in machinery: 10 %
Gross capital formation in machinery: * 0.1 = 4.93 Mio. €

7. Alternatives in terms of sources of data: Allocated versus empirically founded figures
For some items such as compensation of employees and certain taxes the National Accounts provide industry-specific details.
These somehow allocated figures may be confronted with inferences based on empirical data from Austria’s two forest accountancy data networks.
Hence, convergent validity can be addressed.
Although the time-series of ratios hint at systematic effects, the allocated values were adopted for sake of consistency with National Accounting.

8. Convergent validity of data
Convergent validity of data? Industry specific values of National Accounts in % of estimates based on data of forest companies

9. Alternatives in terms of data processing: simple inferences versus modelling
Small-scale forestry, which accounts for almost half of the timber growing industry in Austria, may be represented by approaches with quite different levels of sophistication: Conventional approach (still implemented): Extrapolation of average figures per ha and per m3 as documented by the small and biased network of farm forests (n~110) Modelling approach (to be introduced in 2019): Assessing forestry-specific inputs for all units of the Farm Accountancy Data Network and calculation of statistical inferences from that (n~ 2000)

10.
Differences between alternatives for representing small-scale forestry in the EAF (2013)

11.
Effects on the overall results of the industry according to the framework of the EAF
item
difference
in 2012 (%)
in 2013 (%)
total intermediate consumption
+4.0
+5.8
gross value added
-1.8
+2.6
consumption of fixed capital
-12.7
-12.0
net value added
+0.6
-0.5
factor income
-0.3
-1.4
net entrepreneurial income
-2.0
gross fixed capital formation
+26.7
+15.6
changes in inventories
-167.6
-186.9

12. Challenges associated with the valuation of increment and growing stock
I. Physical data:
availability of data from national forest inventory
 updating, smoothing and corrections in hindsight
splitting up into assortments
 assumptions for determining the volume of potential assortments
II. Valuation:
assessing the degree of completion and the costs of production
 stumpage value at current market prices as surrogate
adjoining of harvesting costs to the different assortments (joint-product production)
 average unit costs of harvesting assumed equal for all assortments

13. Increment: currently available information versus approximation and smoothing of period-specific values in hindsight
Most recent data of NFI:

14. Conclusions as to the valuation of increment and standing timber
The framework provides no stringent rules. Hence, international comparability may never be achieved
In any case, physical as well as monetary data are associated with a bulk of assumptions
Without strict standards the results will remain highly ambiguous and of little significance
Valuation should strictly stick to pragmatic approaches
Carbon reporting may provide the required annual, physical data

15. General conclusions
There is a considerable potential for biases, double counting and omissions
International comparisons are hampered by the different availability of basic data and the use of different methods as well as surrogates, the compatibility of documented results being by no means guaranteed
A comprehensive documentation as well as the revision of whole time series are decisive for the consistency and hence also for the relevance of national results
Clearly defined interfaces with other industries (esp. agriculture), the national accounts and other related statistics (like e.g. carbon reporting) are of utmost importance for smoothly fitting the forestry satellite accounts into the general statistical framework at the national level

16. Thank you very much for your attention and interest!