1.1 International transactions: the balance of payments
The balance of payments is the record of the economic and financial flows that take placeover a specified time period between residents and non-residents of a given country. The timeperiod is arbitrary, but it is common practice to supply balance of payments data on amonthly, quarterly and yearly basis. The residents of a country comprise the centralgovernment, individuals, private non-profit bodies serving individuals, and enterprises, alldefined in terms of their residential relationship to the territory of that economy. Flows referto income and expenditure or changes at levels of outstanding assets and liabilities. They arerecorded in a double entry system of credits and debits or sources and uses.
The best way to understand this definition is via some simple examples, but first wehave to have some general idea of what the balance of payments includes. Table 1.1 shows ashorthand presentation of how the International Monetary Fund (IMF) portrays the balance ofpayments. It is divided into two major accounts, the current account and the capital account.Each general account is then subdivided into categories such as exports, imports, directinvestment and portfolio investment. When necessary, more details are available.
In order to make comparisons between different economies, a standardized method forcompiling the accounts is necessary. The accepted practice is that the dements of bothaccounts should be recorded at market prices where possible. Market prices mean the amountof money that a willing buyer pays to acquire something from a willing seller, when thebuyer and the seller are independent and when such an exchange is motivated only bycommercial considerations. In this context, each transaction is priced individually accordingto the contract terms specific to that transaction. It is therefore conceivable that separatetransactions, though identical in every way, could have different mar
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