Economic Performance Data Items

This is part (iv) of Chapter VI’s reference list of data items (see part (iii), capacity data items). Data items for the economic performance of energy producers and users are important economic indicators, supporting the formulation and monitoring of economic policies related to energy — for example, the impact of taxation on consumer behaviour, or the contribution of the energy industry to national GDP. These data items are closely linked with the concepts, definitions and methods of the System of National Accounts 2008 (SNA 2008) [IRES, Ch. VI, para. 6.73, PDF p. 96, 2018].

Because these data items are generally collected as part of general economic statistics, further reference and detail are provided in the International Recommendations for Industrial Statistics 2008 [IRES, Ch. VI, para. 6.74, PDF p. 96, 2018].

Table — economic performance data items

Item Number	Data item
7.1	Consumer prices (end-use) (by energy product)
7.2	Import energy prices (by energy product)
7.3	Export energy prices (by energy product)
7.4	Taxes (by energy product)
7.5	Other taxes on production (by energy product)
7.6	Subsidies received (by energy products)
7.7	Subsidies on products (by energy product)
7.8	Other subsidies on production (by energy product)
7.9	Gross output at basic prices
7.10	Of which: of energy products (by product)
7.11	Total number of persons employed
7.12	Average number of persons employed
7.13	Hours worked by employees
7.14	Gross fixed capital formation

[IRES, Ch. VI, para. 6.74, Table, PDF pp. 96–97, 2018]

Prices (7.1–7.3)

Prices refer to the actual market price paid for an energy product (or group of products) — commonly called spot prices. Consumer prices (7.1) refer to purchasers’ prices (SNA 2008, para. 14.46), the amount paid by the purchaser. Countries are encouraged to compile information on the components of the different prices, for analytical purposes [IRES, Ch. VI, para. 6.75, PDF p. 96, 2018] — recommendations tracker row VI/6.75:

Producers’ prices = Purchasers’ prices − Wholesale and retail distribution margins (trade margins) − Transportation charges invoiced separately (transport margins) − Non-deductible value added tax (VAT)

and

Basic prices = Producers’ prices − Taxes on products resulting from production, excluding invoiced VAT − Subsidies on products resulting from production

[IRES, Ch. VI, para. 6.75, PDF pp. 96–97, 2018]

Import prices (7.2) generally include cost, insurance and freight (CIF) at the point of entry into the importing economy [IRES, Ch. VI, para. 6.76, PDF p. 97, 2018]. Export prices (7.3) are valued free on board (FOB) at the point of exit from the exporter’s economy, including the cost of transport from the exporter’s premises to the border of the exporting economy [IRES, Ch. VI, para. 6.77, PDF p. 97, 2018].

Taxes and subsidies (7.4–7.8)

Taxes (7.4) are compulsory unrequited payments, in cash or in kind, made to the government. Two main groups exist: taxes on products, and other taxes on production; only other taxes on production (7.5) are presented as a data item, since these payments are recorded in the business accounts of units. Countries are recommended to refer, in statistical questionnaires, to the specific names or descriptions of taxes as they exist in their national fiscal systems [IRES, Ch. VI, para. 6.78, PDF p. 97, 2018] — recommendations tracker row VI/6.78.

Other taxes on production are taxes units are liable to pay as a result of engaging in production — a part of production costs, included in the value of output, paid irrespective of the profitability of production. They consist mainly of taxes on the ownership or use of land, buildings or other production assets, or on labour employed/compensation of employees paid (e.g. motor vehicle taxes, duties and registration fees, levies on the use of fixed assets), plus official fees and charges for specific public services (e.g. testing standards of weights and measures, extracts from official crime registers) [IRES, Ch. VI, para. 6.79, PDF p. 97, 2018]. It may not be possible to collect data on all such taxes at the establishment level; questionnaire design and data compilation should clearly indicate which types of taxes have been reported [IRES, Ch. VI, para. 6.80, PDF p. 97, 2018].

Subsidies received (7.6) covers payments government units make to resident producing units based on their production activities or the quantities/values of goods or services they produce, sell or import; the classification of subsidies closely follows that of taxes [IRES, Ch. VI, para. 6.81, PDF p. 97, 2018]. Subsidies on products (7.7) correspond to subsidies payable per unit of a good or service produced — either a specific amount of money per unit of quantity, or a specified percentage of the price per unit, or the difference between a specified target price and the market price actually paid by a buyer [IRES, Ch. VI, para. 6.82, PDF p. 97, 2018]. Other subsidies on production (7.8) consist of subsidies, other than subsidies on products, that resident enterprises may receive as a consequence of engaging in production (e.g. subsidies on payroll or workforce, subsidies to reduce pollution) [IRES, Ch. VI, para. 6.83, PDF p. 97, 2018].

Gross output (7.9–7.10)

Gross output at basic prices (7.9) measures the result of the overall production activity of economic units — the sum of the value of all goods or services actually produced within an establishment and made available for use outside that establishment, plus any goods and services produced for own final use. To maintain consistency with the valuation principles used elsewhere in business statistics and national accounts, it is recommended that countries compile establishment output at basic prices; where “taxes and subsidies on products” cannot be segregated from “other taxes on production,” valuation at factor cost can serve as a second-best alternative [IRES, Ch. VI, para. 6.84, PDF p. 97, 2018] — recommendations tracker row VI/6.84. Gross output of energy products (7.10) refers to the output generated by the producing unit for each energy product described in SIEC [IRES, Ch. VI, para. 6.85, PDF pp. 97–98, 2018].

Employment and investment (7.11–7.14)

Total number of persons employed (7.11), average number of persons employed (7.12), and hours worked by employees (7.13) describe, for example, the energy industry’s contribution to total employment, and support the assessment of labour input and labour efficiency in energy production [IRES, Ch. VI, para. 6.86, PDF pp. 97–98, 2018].

Gross fixed capital formation (7.14) is measured by the total value of a producer’s acquisitions, less disposals, of fixed assets during the accounting period, plus certain specified expenditures on services that add to the value of non-produced assets. It should include the value of all durable goods with an expected productive life of more than one year and intended for use by the establishment (land, mineral deposits, timber tracts and the like, buildings, machinery, equipment and vehicles) — a measure of an economic entity’s investments, which should be disaggregated by type of asset for a more comprehensive evaluation of energy industries' performance [IRES, Ch. VI, para. 6.87, PDF p. 98, 2018].

Related

• IRES Chapter VI — Statistical Units and Data Items — the chapter digest this page supports
• Production, Storage and Transmission Capacity — part (iii) of the reference list, immediately preceding this section
• System of National Accounts — SNA 2008, whose concepts, definitions and methods this entire section draws on
• International Recommendations for Industrial Statistics — the companion recommendations pointed to for further detail on this section’s data items
• Energy Industries — the units whose economic performance these data items assess