U.S. international transactions in 1997

The U.S. current account deficit widened further in 1997, reaching $166 billion. U.S. imports of goods continued to exceed exports by a substantial margin. However, goods trade accounted for only a small part of the deterioration in the current account balance last year. The shift of investment income from positive to negative (the first time since 1914) was the major contributing factor; it reflected the cumulative effect of deficits in the current account that have persisted since 1982 and the balancing net capital inflows. The financial crises in Asia in the second half of 1997 visibly affected U.S. capital flows but influenced the U.S. current account in only a limited way in that year. Their effect on the U.S. current account is likely to be more apparent in 1998.International trade ; Exports ; Imports

U.S. international transaction in 1980

International trade ; Exports ; Imports

The statistical discrepancy in the U.S. international transactions accounts: sources and suggested remedies

The statistical discrepancy in the U.S. international transactions accounts has tended to be both large and positive over the last decade and a half. In 1990 the statistical discrepancy rose by $45 billion to a record$64 billion and brought the cumulative discrepancy since 1960 to almost $250 billion. The size and persistence of this discrepancy has called into question the accuracy of the data on the U.S. current and capital accounts. ; This paper attempts to find clues to the sources of the statistical discrepancy by 1) reviewing past history, 2) examining the data sources for each major component of the U.S. international transactions accounts, and 3) using regression analysis. The paper concludes with a list of recommendations for data improvements. ; While inadequacies are evident in the data for a wide variety of international transactions, both current and capital account, the search for sources of the big increase in the discrepancy between 1989 and 1990 probably can be narrowed largely to the capital account. It seems unlikely that net exports of goods, services, or investment income increased by an additional$45 billion in 1990. On the capital account side, increases in foreign holdings of U.S. currency probably played a significant role, but the bulk of the increase in the statistical discrepancy in 1990 remains a mystery.Balance of payments

The adequacy of the data on U.S. international financial transactions: a Federal Reserve perspective

This paper was prepared for the meeting of the Panel on International Capital Transactions of the National Research Council (National Academy of Sciences), April 23, 1992. There are well-documented inadequacies in the data on U.S. international capital flows, cross-border holdings of assets, and investment income. In order to set priorities for data improvements, it is necessary to evaluate our needs for information, survey possible additions and alternatives to the current data collection system, and weigh the costs and benefits of proposed improvements. ; This paper focuses on only one facet of these issues, the needs of the Federal Reserve for more accurate and complete data on U.S. international financial transactions. The Federal Reserve uses such data in three basic areas: first, in formulating monetary policy, second, in meeting its supervisory responsibilities, and third, in analyzing the implications of economic and financial developments for the U.S. economy and financial system. The paper concludes with a set of recommendations for improving the quality, coverage, and usefulness of the data on U.S. international financial transactions.International finance ; Statistics

The adequacy of U.S. direct investment data

New questions dealing with the growth of foreign direct investment in the United States have prompted this reassessment of the adequacy of U.S. data on direct investment--data on both foreign direct investment in the United States and U.S. direct investment abroad. We have examined the adequacy of the existing data system for answering important questions in a number of areas--some of them new, but others of longstanding interest: the coverage and accuracy of the data, and the public's accessibility to them; the measurement of the U.S. investment position and servicing burden; the interaction between direct investment and the trade balance; the impact of direct investment operations on a country's economic welfare; and the explanation and forecasting of direct investment flows and activities. A series of conclusions and recommendations is collected in the last section of the paper.Investments, Foreign - United States