Home > Illegal drugs activity to be included in national accounts.

Connolly, Johnny (2014) Illegal drugs activity to be included in national accounts. Drugnet Ireland, Issue 51, Autumn 2014, p. 12.

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National accounts are compiled in the EU according to the European System of National and Regional Accounts (ESA) framework. This year the new ESA 2010 framework has replaced the previous ESA 95 version and all EU member states have had to adopt ESA 2010. In response to a query from the Health Research Board, the Central Statistics Office stated: 

There has been a requirement to include illegal activities in the National Accounts since the ESA 95 version of the national accounting standards were introduced but a lack of detailed and comprehensive data sources for these activities have been the cause of significant measurement difficulties for all EU member states. The European statistical agency, Eurostat, has agreed recommendations on the estimation and recording of these activities in recent years and now requires each member state to include estimates for illegal activities in their National Accounts before September 2014. To comply as far as possible with the Eurostat requirement, the revised and additional estimates for illegal activities for Ireland are included in CSO's Quarterly National Accounts (QNA) in respect of Q1 2014 and the annual National Income & Expenditure accounts (NIE) 2013 releases.1 

The National Income and Expenditure Annual Estimates 2013 for Ireland have been released based on the ESA 2010 framework. The percentages of gross domestic product (GDP)2 in respect of illegal activities back to 2010, shown in Table 1 below, include estimates for economic activity associated with the smuggling and production of drugs as well as the smuggling of fuel, cigarettes and prostitution. It is not possible at present to clarify either the proportion of the total in the category ‘Illegal economic activities’ associated with the illicit drugs market or how precisely this figure was calculated.

Item Type
Article
Publication Type
Irish-related, Open Access, Article
Drug Type
Substances (not alcohol/tobacco)
Intervention Type
Policy
Issue Title
Issue 51, Autumn 2014
Date
October 2014
Page Range
p. 12
Publisher
Health Research Board
Volume
Issue 51, Autumn 2014
EndNote

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