A. Data compilation within the modes of services supply statistical framework: issues to consider
Information needs
12.2. The information needs include the value of trade in services or sales/output of services by foreign-controlled foreign affiliates and other monetary statistics (foreign direct investment flows and stocks, research and development expenditure in affiliates, income flows relating to foreign affiliates active in services sectors, etc.). There is also interest in non-monetary data, in particular in terms of assessing commitments made in trade in services agreements (e.g., number of mode 4 persons, number of foreign affiliates established abroad in the context of mode 3, etc.).
12.3. To provide better guidance on how to satisfy the information needs of data users, part II of the present Guide contains three chapters focused on particular areas:
(a) The compilation of statistics on resident/non-resident trade in services is covered in chapter 14. That chapter complements the guidance provided in chapter 12 of the BPM6 Compilation Guide. It elaborates conceptual issues directly related to data compilation; describes challenges and good practices in the compilation of particular Extended Balance of Payments Services Classification (EBOPS) categories, in total and detailed by trading partner, as well as their allocation to modes of supply, and provides guidance on services transactions between related enterprises;
(b) The compilation of FATS is covered in chapter 15, which contains a general description of the compilation of FATS, elaborates a set of FATS variables, discusses the related data compilation issues and describes relevant country experiences. The chapter focuses, in particular, on data needs with respect to the international supply of services, identifying the variables and breakdowns of interest for assessing mode 3 commercial presence. These include the need for more detailed statistics for services activities, the preference for output over sales/turnover for measurement and the need to separately identify sales/output of services products for all activities and specifically for those that are destined to consumers of the country of establishment of affiliates;
(c) The compilation of other monetary and non-monetary indicators, in particular for modes 2 and 4 (i.e., the number of mode 2 persons travelling abroad and purchasing services and the number of mode 4 persons crossing borders and temporarily abroad in the context of services contracts) is an important information requirement. The related challenges and good practices are described in chapter 16, which provides, in particular, an overview of data variables on the movements of natural persons under mode 4 of services supply, describes the uses of various data sources in the compilation of the variables and compares different sources and guidelines on the organization of the data compilation process. The chapter also provides information on the possibilities offered by the linking of trade and business statistics, and a list of sectoral services statistics useful for a full analysis of the international supply of services.
Next: B. Focusing on an integrated approach