Balance of Payments Statistics

• Author: Marie Montanjees
• Pages: 20-

Page 20

The vast amount of information available on the IMF Balance of Payments website is organized into separate modules and is accessed through easy links. The contents of the major modules are described below.

* Balance of Payments Committee: provides information on the activities of the IMF Committee on Balance of Payments Statistics, a group of expert data compilers established in 1992 to advise the IMF on methodological and compilation issues affecting balance of payments and international investment position statistics. The site publishes the annual reports of the committee and papers on the committee's research activities, such as the statistical measurement of repurchase agreements, drug smuggling, travel expenditures, and shuttle trade.

* Balance of Payments Newsletters: provides the IMF's Balance of Payments Statistics Newsletter from 1995 to the present. The newsletter contains information on developments in balance of payments statistics taking place in different countries and in international organizations.

* Balance of Payments Selected Publications: lists selected publications and working papers on balance of payments topics. The site includes links to the text of the IMF's Balance of Payments Manual (BPM5) , the Balance of Payments Compilation Guide , the Balance of Payments Textbook , and Financial Derivatives: A Supplement to BPM5.

* Direct Investment Methodology: covers the IMF/OECD survey of data sources and methodological practices used to compile foreign direct investment (FDI) statistics, including the report on the 1997 survey that covered 114 countries. Reports on the 2001 update of the survey for the 30 OECD countries and selected non-OECD countries will be posted on the site shortly, as well as summary descriptions of the compilation practices, data sources, and methodology for specific countries.

* External Debt Statistics: provides a link to the text of the interagency External Debt Statistics: Guide for Compilers and Users, which covers the measurement and presentation of external debt statistics and the compilation and analytical use of external debt statistics. The site also provides a link to the...