The function of the national accounts is to provide an
interrelated and consistent set of economic statistics of the
transactors in the economy. Those statistics relate to the circular flow
in the economy of production, consumption and accumulation. They are
used to assess the performance of the economy and should facilitate the
application of economic theory. In Pakistan, a systematic design of the
system of national·accounts has been lacking. Basically, the system is
limited to macro economic production statistics on value-ad~ed by
sectors and expenditure series. Moreover, the present system lacks
internal consistency checks. Discrepancies cannot be assessed due to the
existence of residual sectors. As a result, the national accounls have
not been exploited in their function for the evaluation of the
performance of the economy. During the mid-1980s, a comprehensive review
of the system was made to improve the national accounts. The
recommendations which were formulated after the review stated that: The
system should be rebased from 1959-60 to 1980-81; The system should be
extended to include input-output tables, flow-of-funds and institutional
sector accounts; and The system should adopt the integrated national
accounts concepts.
Historical reasons for the focus on broad monetary aggregates in post-World War II Britain and the ‘Seven Years War’ with the IMF
