Abstract

This book studies the reform and development of China’s official statistics and major issues surrounding them that have drawn the society’s attention. It reflects the author’s thinking and exploration on these issues. The book covers the basic definitions，forms of expression，roles and limitations of the concept of the Gross Domestic Product （GDP），and the source data and method of calculation，and the author tries to answer some of users’ questions and concerns with regard to this important macroeconomic indicator. The study provides a conceptualization，basic indicators and calculation methods of income distribution accounting，and clarifies some misunderstandings of this issue. The examination reveals the relationship between final demand and household disposable income indicators in China’s system of national accounts and related statistical indicators，clarifies whether there is distortion in China’s GDP figures in terms of either volume or rate，and looks at whether some important ratios in the national economy have been incorrectly calculated，such as those among China’s consumption，investment and net exports，and among household，corporate and government incomes. On the reform and development of China’s official statistics，this book discusses the revision of China’s national accounting system，statistics of fixed assets investment，the service industry and the integration of rural and urban households surveys，the issues of the establishment of a streamlined corporate accounting system，direct online reporting system and the quarterly change accounting system，etc. This book provides important reference for an in-depth understanding of China’s official statistics.