## 1. The IMF’s Government Finance Statistics Yearbook Database: An Overview

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---

### Introduction and purpose
- Recent financial crisis increased importance of sound fiscal policy and high quality detailed comparable data.
- GFSY is a unique source of detailed fiscal data for a diverse group of countries; complexity makes it difficult and tedious to work with.
- Purpose of the paper: provide a non-technical overview of GFSY advantages and how the database is improving to meet user needs.
- Paper structure: Section II — overview of GFSY data; Section III — initiatives to address user concerns; Section IV — improvements to metadata structure; Section V — access via the IMF’s e-library (http://elibrary-data.imf.org); Section VI — conclusions.

### Scope, framework, and linkages
- Follows Government Finance Statistics Manual 2001 (GFSM 2001), which is based on the System of National Accounts 2008 (2008 SNA).
- GFSM 2001/2008 SNA concepts enable linking data across macroeconomic datasets (GDP and price data, monetary, and balance of payments) similar to IMF’s International Financial Statistics database.

### Data coverage and uniqueness
- Coverage: detailed global public finance structures over an almost 40 year period for almost 140 countries.
- Unique features:
  - Detailed, disaggregated breakdowns beyond high-level aggregates (total revenue, total expenses).
  - "Above the line" data: revenue, expenditure.
  - "Below the line" data: how a surplus is invested or a deficit is financed.
  - Positions data: assets and liabilities with detailed breakdowns.
  - Presentation by COFOG: health, education, defense, economic affairs, public order and safety, recreation and culture, environment and social protection, general public services.
- Comparative scope: broader country coverage than many specialized databases; not all countries report full information.

### Institutional decomposition and consolidation
- Decomposes "government" into institutional units enabling analysis by layers of government (central, state, local).
- Includes institutional tables with detailed information about institutions comprising each government; structured to permit analysis by groups of institutions.
- Limitation: does not include data for each level of government for every country; permits cross-country and within-country institutional analysis where data exist.
- Consolidation technique:
  - Moving from disaggregated level to broader aggregate nets out intra-government finances to avoid double counting; netting implies a loss of information.
- Institutional levels defined:
  - GL3–General Government: comprises the central government as well as various subsectors.
  - GL2–Central Government: those controlled by a single central authority which extends over the entire territory.
  - GL1–Budgetary Central Government: Judiciary, legislature, ministries, presidency, and government agencies.
  - State/Regional governments: separate institutional units controlled by state/provincial/regional authorities with control over a geographical sub-section of the territory independent of the central government.
  - Local governments: separate institutional units whose fiscal, legislative, and executive authority extends over the smallest geographical area distinguished for administrative purposes.
- Data coverage realities:
  - Some countries publish only GL1; others only GL2; relatively smaller number provide all three levels.
- Research implication:
  - Significant differences can emerge regarding a country’s fiscal position depending on the institutional unit examined.
  - Constructing consolidated datasets requires significant knowledge of statistical concepts and specifying/selecting the level of government when data for the desired level are unavailable.

### Practical considerations and data-user challenges
- Complexity of framework and heterogeneity in reporting make database challenging and tedious to work with.
- Not all countries report full information, producing data gaps and within-country comparability issues.
- IMF Statistics Department maintains the database, conducts training for compilers, and engages with compilers during annual data collection.

### Recent initiatives to address user concerns
A. Long Term Fiscal Trends
- Project launched in 2010 to link historical government finance statistics database (1972–1989) to current one (previously back only to 1990).
- Conversion results:
  - Conversion of high-level fiscal data for 86 countries from 1972 to the present for revenue, expense and transactions in nonfinancial/financial assets and liabilities covering central, state, and local government.
  - Converted series available on Government Finance Statistics CD-ROM (from the September 2011 edition onward) and online on the IMF eLibrary Data site (http://elibrary-data.imf.org).
- Series linked comprise major aggregates, main components and balances in the format of the GFSM 2001 Statement of Sources and Uses of Cash (Cash Statement).
- Future desirable conversion: positions data (mainly public debt).

B. Within-country data comparability: accrual vs. cash, and monetary unions
- GFSM 2001 introduced accrual based statistics (operations statements) in addition to cash statements.
  - Accrual accounting records transactions when changes in economic value are recognized.
  - Cash statistics record transactions when cash is exchanged.
  - Example: a donation in kind (e.g. food aid) recorded as revenue in accrual but not in cash accounting.
- Trend: increasing reporting of accrual based statistics from 1972 to 2010; accrual reporting countries becoming more predominant.
- Implications for CSTS analysis:
  - Switch to accrual reduces sample size for cash data from the mid 1990’s.
  - Confined accrual-only analysis would limit time frame and number of countries.
  - Practical approach: merge cash and accrual data for most series and include a dummy variable in parametric analysis to control for systematic differences; cash data could be seen as a proxy for accrual for econometric evaluation over long periods.
- Monetary unions and currency breaks:
  - GFSY data shown in national currency; adoption of a new currency creates a break in the series (example: European Monetary Union).
  - Public finance data split for euro area original members: 1972–1999 in national currencies and 1999-present in euros.
  - Several international data providers converted pre-1999 national currency data using irrevocable exchange rates to preserve internal dynamic comparability.
  - IMF Statistics Department converted data for all euro member countries using irrevocable exchange rates to make data comparable over entire 1995–2010 period without breaks.
  - Efforts underway (in 2012) to convert series back to 1972 to create a consistent dynamic series covering 1972–2010.

C. Filling data gaps
- Missing observations are a major challenge; non-randomness of missingness makes list-wise deletion sub-optimal.
  - Developing and emerging economies, or countries experiencing macroeconomic volatility or war, are much less likely to report financial statistics than advanced or stable economies.
- Common researcher practice: merge data from several sources with varying degrees of institutional coverage and cross-national comparability to fill missing data.
- Major gaps remain especially on balance sheet data.
- Practical obstacles:
  - Data providers for government assets and liabilities are often in different institutions than those providing revenue or expense data (e.g., debt management offices for liabilities, asset management companies for financial assets, other agencies for nonfinancial assets).
  - Decentralized management of government finances complicates assembling a whole balance sheet.
- Initiatives:
  - 2010: IMF Statistics Department together with the World Bank and in collaboration with Eurostat and the OECD launched a new online database on Public Debt structured to complement GFSY data (http://data.worldbank.org/data-catalog/quarterly-public-sector-debt).
  - Statistics Department has begun addressing data gaps on a country-by-country basis within the GFSM 2001 framework.

D. Research projects, communication and collaboration with users
- Outreach and collaboration informed Statistics Department about user difficulties and needs.
- 2011 extension:
  - Conversion of high-level aggregates to more detailed revenue statistics dating back to 1972 into GFSM 2001 comparable format.
  - Detailed conversion and filling of missing data using accounting rules and historical hard copy publications resulted in adding 86 countries with historical data to a detailed database covering 1990–2010.
  - Converted detailed revenue data used in IMF Policy Paper Revenue Mobilization in Developing Countries. Fiscal Affairs Department (March 8, 2011).
- Harmonization efforts:
  - IMF and OECD developed a harmonized tax revenue template making revenue statistics comparable between both organizations.
  - Collaborations underway with Inter-American Development Bank, FAO, WHO, Commonwealth Secretariat, and UNCTAD to align databases, embed GFSY codes, or prepopulate datasets with GFSY aggregates.
  - Commonwealth Secretariat and UNCTAD provide debt recording and debt management software to about 80 member countries embedding GFSY codes, allowing download of fiscal statistics in GFSY-compatible format.

### Metadata and institutional structure database
- Metadata are crucial for statistical transparency; linking data and metadata in a user-friendly way remains a challenge.
- Institutional Tables historically included in print only, limiting visibility to online users; tables were inconsistently structured across countries.
- 2012 project to create a database on Institutional Structures based on country-provided metadata for publication in the GFSY.
  - Content: reporting entities, basis of recording, coverage on subsectors of general government (central, state and local government, extrabudgetary units, social security funds).
  - Launch plan: first inside IMF then globally.
  - Purpose: help users assess centralization/decentralization of government finances and how well reported data cover existing institutions.

### Access via the IMF eLibrary
- Government Finance Statistics accessible on IMF eLibrary Data (http://elibrary-data.imf.org) though not for the full time series.
- Two main access methods:
  - Predefined data reports via drop-down menus on eLibrary Data homepage (select Government Finance Statistics from Data Source drop-down). Designed by government finance experts; provide direct access to most important aggregates and frequently requested data.
  - “Build your own query” feature (Query within a Dataset) allows researchers to narrow search; selection menus dynamically filter available items to avoid empty result tables. Subscribers can access the Government Finance Statistics “query builder” under the Query within a Dataset heading.

### Summary and conclusions
- GFSY provides detailed public finance statistics under a unified methodological framework explicitly defining series and institutional units.
- Useful for researchers going beyond high-level aggregates; trade-off is increased complexity and requirement of specialty knowledge.
- Paper reviewed sources of complexity and initiatives to rectify user concerns on long term fiscal trends, within-country comparability, and data gaps.
- Anticipated outcome: greater communication and collaboration with users, and increased linkages between analytical demands and GFSM 2001 framework, leading to more robust, reliable and precise recommendations for future fiscal policy.

### Appendix I — GFSY detailed revenue statistics data availability 1972–2009 (selected country entries preserved exactly)
- Note: Data availability refers to Consolidated Central Government. Data for General Government are also available but mostly for advanced economies.
- "Shaded rows represent countries with a full continuous series"
- "*- Note: Data availability refers to Consolidated Central Government. Data for General Government data are also available but mostly advanced economies"
- Selected entries (preserved exactly as listed):
  - Advanced Economies
    - Australia 1972-20091999-2009NoneLG, SG, CG, GG
    - Austria 1972-19991995-2009NoneLG, SG, CG, GG
    - Belgium 1972-19981995-2009NoneLG, CG
    - Canada 1974-20071991-2009NoneLG, SG, CG, GG
    - Japan 1972-19932006-2009NoneLG, CG, GG
    - United States 1972-20032001-2009NoneLG, SG, CG, GG
    - Italy 1973-19991995-20091976-79; 1988-89 LG*, CG
    - Switzerland 1972-20082008NoneLG, SG, CG, GG
  - Emerging Economies (selected)
    - Afghanistan 2006-2009NoneNoneLG, CG, GG
    - Argentina 1979-20042002-2004NoneSG, CG
    - Brazil 1980-20092006-20081995-96 LG, SG, CG
    - Chile 1972-20092000-2009NoneLG, CG, GG
    - India 1974-2009NoneNoneSG, CG
    - Mexico 1972-2000NoneNoneLG, SG, CG, GG
    - South Africa 1972-20092000-2009NoneLG, SG, CG, GG
    - Turkey 1972-199820091982CG
    - Peru 1972-2009NoneNoneCG
  - Additional sample entries
    - Malta 1972-2004  2003-20091979CG
    - Korea, Rep. 1972-2009NoneNoneCG
    - Luxembourg 1972-19971999-2009NoneLG, CG, GG
    - Poland 1984-88; 1994-20092001-2009NoneLG, CG, GG
    - Romania 1980-20082002-2008NoneLG, CG, GG
    - Venezuela 1972-2005None1987; 1989 CG
    - Zimbabwe 1976-1997NoneNoneLG, CG, GG
- Implication: table specifies exact years of availability and identified breaks which users must account for in time-series analyses; reporting of sectors (LG, SG, CG, GG) determines consolidated central government vs broader general government availability.

### Appendix II — “Above- and Below-the-Line” in Government Finance Statistics
- Conceptual definition:
  - “The line” refers to the net lending (+)/borrowing (-) balance in GFSM 2001 framework.
  - Above the line: Revenue, expense, and net acquisition of nonfinancial assets create the net lending(+)/borrowing(-) balance.
  - Below the line: Net acquisition of financial assets and net incurrence of liabilities explain how the balance is financed or invested.
  - In principle above-the-line and below-the-line concepts should yield identical outcomes; in practice they can differ due to measurement issues.
- Data sources and practical use:
  - Above-the-line information usually comes from budget execution reports.
  - Below-the-line data are treasury transactions corresponding with monetary statistics.
  - Monetary statistics are generally more timely and easier to compile; often used to monitor policy, for example in IMF-supported programs.
- International guidance (verbatim excerpts preserved):
  - IMF Manual of Fiscal Transparency paragraph 245: “The overall balance aims to identify those transactions of government that result in net borrowing from other economic sectors (and are “deficit or surplus creating” or “above the line”). Analysis of the size of the deficit or surplus and its components, as well as the sources of deficit financing (or “below-the-line” transactions), will also be relevant in assessing the implications of fiscal policy for the economy”
  - BPM6 paragraph 14.16: “the balance of current, capital, and financial accounts draws the line between the ways monetary authorities finance transactions (below the line) and other items (above the line.)”
- Illustrative accounting presentation (exact figures and signs preserved):
  - Above-the-line accounts
    - Revenue e.g. taxes10
    - minusExpenditure                                                                        17
    - Expense                                                                15
    - Net acquisition of nonfinancial assets             2
    - Net lending(+)/borrowing(-) balance  ("the line")                   -7
  - Below-the-line accounts
    - Net acquisition of financial assets-3
    - minusNet incurrence of liabilities4

*Source: _wp1315 - 1. The IMF’s Government Finance Statistics Yearbook Database: An Overview*

### 1. The IMF’s Government Finance Statistics Yearbook Database: An Overview ....................4

### 1. The IMF’s Government Finance Statistics Yearbook Database: An Overview

### Introduction
- The recent financial crisis highlighted the growing importance of sound fiscal policy for sustainable macroeconomic performance.
- Evaluating past and current fiscal performance requires high quality detailed and comparable data; a major challenge is scarcity of such data, especially long time series needed to assess cyclical patterns.
- The IMF Government Finance Statistics Yearbook database (GFSY) is a unique source of detailed fiscal data for a diverse group of countries but its complexity makes it difficult and tedious to work with.
- The purpose of the paper is to provide a non-technical overview of the advantages of GFSY and how the database is improving to better meet user needs.
- Paper structure (as described): Section II — overview of GFSY data; Section III — initiatives to address user concerns; Section IV — improvements to metadata structure; Section V — access via the IMF’s e-library (http://elibrary-data.imf.org); Section VI — conclusions.

### The GFSY: scope, framework, and linkages
- The GFSY follows the Government Finance Statistics Manual 2001 (GFSM 2001), which is based on the System of National Accounts 2008 (2008 SNA).
- These manuals provide an in-depth methodological framework and detailed technical concepts to achieve a high level of comparability across countries.
- The GFSY database is structured along GFSM 2001/2008 SNA concepts and permits users to link data across macroeconomic datasets (GDP and price data, monetary, and balance of payments data) similar to the IMF’s International Financial Statistics database.

### Data coverage and uniqueness
- The GFSY has data on detailed global public finance structures over an almost 40 year period for almost 140 countries.
- Unique features of the GFSY:
  - Detailed, disaggregated breakdowns (beyond high-level aggregates like total revenue and total expenses).
  - "Above the line" data: revenue, expenditure.
  - "Below the line" data: how a surplus is invested or a deficit is financed.
  - Positions data: assets and liabilities with detailed breakdowns.
  - Presentation of data according to the Classification of Functions of Government (COFOG), covering expenditure activities such as health, education, defense, economic affairs, public order and safety, recreation and culture, environment and social protection, and general public services.
- Comparative scope:
  - Some specialized databases include below-the-line items but are limited in coverage (e.g., regional or advanced-economy focus); the GFSY includes a broader set of countries, although not all countries report full information.

### Institutional decomposition and consolidation
- The GFSY explicitly decomposes "government" into institutional units, enabling analysis by layers of government (central, state, local, etc.).
- This decomposition supports research on issues such as decentralization and the role of local governments.
- The database includes institutional tables with detailed information about the institutions comprising each government and is structured to permit analysis by groups of institutions.
- Limitation noted: the GFSY does not include data for each level of government for every country, but it permits cross-country and within-country institutional analysis where data exist.

### Practical considerations and data-user challenges
- The GFSY’s detailed and systematic framework is valuable for researchers seeking disaggregated fiscal structures, yet:
  - The complexity of the framework and heterogeneity in reporting make the database challenging and tedious to work with.
  - Not all countries report full information, leading to data gaps and within-country comparability issues.
- The IMF Statistics Department maintains the database, conducts training for compilers, and engages with compilers during the annual data collection process.

*Source: _wp1315 - 1. The IMF’s Government Finance Statistics Yearbook Database: An Overview*

### Appendix 1 provides an overview of available data by country and Appendix 2 explains the notion of “above-

### _wp1315 - Appendix 1 provides an overview of available data by country and Appendix 2 explains the notion of “above-

### Institutional structure of government (GL levels, consolidation, and implications)
- GL3–General Government comprises the central government as well as various subsectors.
- GL2–Central Government: those controlled by a single central authority which extends over the entire territory.
- GL1–Budgetary Central Government: Judiciary, legislature, ministries, presidency, and government agencies.
- State/Regional governments: separate institutional units controlled by state/provincial/regional authorities with control over a geographical sub-section of the territory independent of the central government.
- Local governments: separate institutional units whose fiscal, legislative, and executive authority extends over the smallest geographical area distinguished for administrative purposes.
- Consolidation technique used when aggregating data:
  - Moving from a disaggregated level to a broader aggregate, intra-government finances are netted out to avoid double counting.
  - Netting out intra-governmental relations implies a loss of information; data on each level of government are most helpful to arrive at a complete picture of a government’s finances.
- Data coverage realities:
  - Some countries publish only GL1; others only GL2; relatively smaller number provide all three levels.
- Research implication:
  - Significant differences can emerge regarding a country’s fiscal position depending on the institutional unit examined (examples cited: Dziobek, Gutierrez Mangas and Kufa (2011); Dippelsman, Dziobek and Gutierrez-Mangas (2012)).
  - Constructing consolidated datasets requires significant knowledge of statistical concepts and specifying/selecting the level of government when data for the desired level are unavailable.

### Recent initiatives to address user concerns
A. Long Term Fiscal Trends
- Project launched in 2010 to link the historical government finance statistics database (1972–1989) to the current one that previously went back only to 1990.
- Conversion results:
  - Conversion of high-level fiscal data for 86 countries from 1972 to the present for revenue, expense and transactions in nonfinancial/financial assets and liabilities covering central, state, and local government.
  - These converted series available on the Government Finance Statistics CD-ROM (from the September 2011 edition onward) and online on the IMF eLibrary Data site (http://elibrary-data.imf.org).
- Series linked comprise major aggregates, their main components and balances in the format of the GFSM 2001 Statement of Sources and Uses of Cash (Cash Statement).
- Future desirable conversion: positions data (mainly public debt).

B. Within-country data comparability: accrual vs. cash, and monetary unions
- GFSM 2001 introduced accrual based statistics (operations statements) in addition to cash statements.
  - Accrual accounting records transactions when changes in economic value are recognized.
  - Cash statistics record transactions when cash is exchanged.
  - Example: a donation in kind (e.g. food aid) recorded as revenue in accrual but not in cash accounting.
- Trend:
  - Increasing reporting of accrual based statistics from 1972 to 2010; accrual reporting countries becoming more predominant.
- Implications for CSTS analysis:
  - Switch to accrual reduces sample size for cash data from the mid 1990’s.
  - Confined accrual-only analysis would limit time frame and number of countries.
  - Practical approach: merge cash and accrual data for most series and include a dummy variable in parametric analysis to control for systematic differences; cash data could be seen as a proxy for accrual for econometric evaluation over long periods.
- Monetary unions and currency breaks:
  - GFSY data are shown in national currency; adoption of a new currency creates a break in the series (prominent example: European Monetary Union).
  - Public finance data split into two series for euro area original members: 1972–1999 in national currencies and 1999-present in euros.
  - Several international data providers converted pre-1999 national currency data using irrevocable exchange rates to preserve internal dynamic comparability.
  - IMF Statistics Department converted data for all euro member countries using irrevocable exchange rates to make data comparable over the entire 1995–2010 period without breaks.
  - Efforts underway (in 2012) to convert the series back to 1972 to create a consistent dynamic series covering the entire 1972–2010 period.

C. Filling data gaps
- Missing observations present major challenge; non-randomness of missingness makes list-wise deletion sub-optimal.
  - Developing and emerging economies, or countries experiencing macroeconomic volatility or war, are much less likely to report financial statistics than advanced or stable economies.
- Common researcher practice: merge data from several sources with varying degrees of institutional coverage and cross-national comparability to fill missing data.
- Major gaps remain especially on balance sheet data.
- Practical obstacles:
  - Data providers for government assets and liabilities are often in different institutions than those providing revenue or expense data (e.g., debt management offices for liabilities, asset management companies for financial assets, other agencies for nonfinancial assets).
  - Decentralized approach to managing government finances in many countries complicates assembling a whole balance sheet.
- Initiatives:
  - 2010: IMF Statistics Department together with the World Bank and in collaboration with Eurostat and the OECD launched a new online database on Public Debt structured to complement GFSY data (http://data.worldbank.org/data-catalog/quarterly-public-sector-debt).
  - Statistics Department has begun addressing data gaps on a country-by-country basis within the GFSM 2001 framework.

D. Research projects, communication and collaboration with users
- Outreach and collaboration have helped the Statistics Department better understand user difficulties and address needs.
- 2011 extension:
  - Conversion of high-level aggregates to more detailed revenue statistics dating back to 1972 into GFSM 2001 comparable format.
  - Detailed conversion and filling of missing data using accounting rules and historical hard copy publications resulted in adding 86 countries with historical data to a detailed database covering 1990–2010.
  - Converted detailed revenue data were used in IMF Policy Paper Revenue Mobilization in Developing Countries. Fiscal Affairs Department (March 8, 2011).
- Harmonization efforts with other international organizations:
  - IMF and OECD developed a harmonized tax revenue template making revenue statistics comparable between both organizations.
  - Collaborations underway with Inter-American Development Bank, FAO, WHO, Commonwealth Secretariat, and UNCTAD to align databases, embed GFSY codes, or prepopulate datasets with GFSY aggregates.
  - Commonwealth Secretariat and UNCTAD provide debt recording and debt management software to about 80 member countries embedding GFSY codes, allowing download of fiscal statistics in GFSY-compatible format.

### Metadata
- Metadata are crucial for statistical transparency; linking data and metadata in a user-friendly way remains a challenge.
- Government Finance Statistics Yearbook (GFSY) has included Institutional Tables historically in print format only, limiting visibility to online statistical users.
- Institutional tables were inconsistently structured across countries (some detailed lists of government agencies; others not).
- 2012 project launched to create a database on Institutional Structures based on country-provided metadata for publication in the GFSY.
  - Database content: reporting entities, basis of recording, coverage on subsectors of general government (central, state and local government, extrabudgetary units, social security funds).
  - Launch plan: first inside the IMF and then globally.
  - Purpose: help users assess how centralized or decentralized government finances are and how well reported data cover existing institutions.

### Accessing Government Finance Statistics in the IMF eLibrary
- Government Finance Statistics accessible on the IMF eLibrary Data (http://elibrary-data.imf.org) though not for the full time series.
- Two main access methods:
  - Predefined data reports via drop-down menus on the eLibrary Data homepage (select Government Finance Statistics from the Data Source drop-down). Designed by government finance experts; provide direct access to most important aggregates and frequently requested data.
  - “Build your own query” feature (Query within a Dataset) allows researchers to narrow search; selection menus dynamically filter available items to avoid empty result tables. Subscribers can access the Government Finance Statistics “query builder” under the Query within a Dataset heading.

### Summary and conclusion
- Purpose of the paper: non-technical summary of unique features of the GFSY database and its flexibility for analytical work.
- Availability of detailed public finance statistics under a unified methodological framework (explicitly defining series and institutional units) increasingly useful for researchers who want to go beyond high-level aggregates.
- Trade-off: these features increase data complexity and require specialty knowledge.
- Reviewed sources of complexity and initiatives to rectify user concerns on:
  - long term fiscal trends,
  - within-country comparability,
  - data gaps.
- Anticipated outcome:
  - Greater communication and collaboration with users, and increased linkages between analytical demands and the unified GFSM 2001 framework, will lead to more robust, reliable and precise recommendations for future fiscal policy.

*Source: https://www.imf.org/-/media/websites/imf/imported-full-text-pdf/external/pubs/ft/wp/2013/_wp1315.pdf*

### APPENDIX I. GFSY DETAILED REVENUE STATISTICS DATA AVAILABILITY 1972–2009*

### APPENDIX I. GFSY DETAILED REVENUE STATISTICS DATA AVAILABILITY 1972–2009*

### Data availability overview
- The appendix provides country-level availability of GFSY detailed revenue statistics for the period 1972–2009, indicating for each country:
  - Years Available
  - Breaks in series
  - Reporting Cash/Accrual years available
  - Available Sectors (LG, SG, CG, GG)
- Note: Data availability refers to Consolidated Central Government. Data for General Government are also available but mostly for advanced economies.
- Shaded rows in the original table represent countries with a full continuous series.

### Selected country entries (preserve source entries exactly)
- Advanced Economies
  - Australia 1972-20091999-2009NoneLG, SG, CG, GG
  - Austria 1972-19991995-2009NoneLG, SG, CG, GG
  - Belgium 1972-19981995-2009NoneLG, CG
  - Canada 1974-20071991-2009NoneLG, SG, CG, GG
  - Japan 1972-19932006-2009NoneLG, CG, GG
  - United States 1972-20032001-2009NoneLG, SG, CG, GG
  - Italy 1973-19991995-20091976-79; 1988-89 LG*, CG
  - Switzerland 1972-20082008NoneLG, SG, CG, GG
- Emerging Economies (selected)
  - Afghanistan 2006-2009NoneNoneLG, CG, GG
  - Argentina 1979-20042002-2004NoneSG, CG
  - Brazil 1980-20092006-20081995-96 LG, SG, CG
  - Chile 1972-20092000-2009NoneLG, CG, GG
  - India 1974-2009NoneNoneSG, CG
  - Mexico 1972-2000NoneNoneLG, SG, CG, GG
  - South Africa 1972-20092000-2009NoneLG, SG, CG, GG
  - Turkey 1972-199820091982CG
  - Peru 1972-2009NoneNoneCG
- Additional sample entries (preserve exact listing)
  - Malta 1972-2004  2003-20091979CG
  - Korea, Rep. 1972-2009NoneNoneCG
  - Luxembourg 1972-19971999-2009NoneLG, CG, GG
  - Poland 1984-88; 1994-20092001-2009NoneLG, CG, GG
  - Romania 1980-20082002-2008NoneLG, CG, GG
  - Venezuela 1972-2005None1987; 1989 CG
  - Zimbabwe 1976-1997NoneNoneLG, CG, GG

### Table footnotes and metadata preserved
- "Shaded rows represent countries with a full continuous series"
- "*- Note: Data availability refers to Consolidated Central Government. Data for General Government data are also available but mostly advanced economies"

### Implications for users of the GFSY dataset
- The table specifies exact years of availability and identified breaks for country series, which users must account for when constructing time-series analyses.
- Reporting of sectors (LG, SG, CG, GG) is provided per country and must be used to determine whether consolidated central government or broader general government data are available.

*Source: APPENDIX I. GFSY DETAILED REVENUE STATISTICS DATA AVAILABILITY 1972–2009*

### APPENDIX II — “Above- and Below-the-Line” in Government Finance Statistics

### Conceptual definition
- “The line” refers to the net lending (+)/borrowing (-) balance in the Government Finance Statistics Manual (GFSM) 2001 framework.
- Above the line:
  - Revenue, expense, and net acquisition of nonfinancial assets create the net lending(+)/borrowing(-) balance.
- Below the line:
  - Net acquisition of financial assets and net incurrence of liabilities explain how the balance is financed or invested.
- In principle above-the-line and below-the-line concepts should yield identical outcomes; in practice they can differ due to measurement issues.

### Data sources and practical use
- Above-the-line information usually comes from budget execution reports.
- Below-the-line data are treasury transactions corresponding with monetary statistics.
- Monetary statistics are generally more timely and easier to compile; they are often used to monitor policy, for example in IMF-supported programs.

### International guidance citations (verbatim excerpts)
- IMF Manual of Fiscal Transparency paragraph 245: “The overall balance aims to identify those transactions of government that result in net borrowing from other economic sectors (and are “deficit or surplus creating” or “above the line”). Analysis of the size of the deficit or surplus and its components, as well as the sources of deficit financing (or “below-the-line” transactions), will also be relevant in assessing the implications of fiscal policy for the economy”
- BPM6 paragraph 14.16: “the balance of current, capital, and financial accounts draws the line between the ways monetary authorities finance transactions (below the line) and other items (above the line.)”

### Illustrative accounting presentation (preserve exact figures and signs)
- Above-the-line accounts
  - Revenue e.g. taxes10
  - minusExpenditure                                                                        17
  - Expense                                                                15
  - Net acquisition of nonfinancial assets             2
  - Net lending(+)/borrowing(-) balance  ("the line")                   -7
- Below-the-line accounts
  - Net acquisition of financial assets-3
  - minusNet incurrence of liabilities4

*Source: APPENDIX II. “Above- and Below-the-Line” in Government Finance Statistics*

---


_Source: https://www.imf.org/-/media/websites/imf/imported-full-text-pdf/external/pubs/ft/wp/2013/_wp1315.pdf_