Outline       

     This chapter is concerned with information on national income, family income and expenditure and industrial inter-relations. In 1953, our country began compiling annual national income statistics in Taiwan area, based on the system of national accounts by the United Nations. Preliminary Compilation of quarterly national product and income statistics started in 1970. Beginning in 1978, a macro-econometric model has been used to forecast economic conditions for the current quarter. The forecasts together with the preliminary statistics for the previous quarter are compiled into the Quarterly National Economic Trends published in every February, May, August, and November of a year. In 1986, the prediction was extended to cover a quarter beyond the current one, an additional quarter in 1987, and four quarters to come in 1988. Our country adopted the UN national economic account system, as revised by the United Nations in 1993, and compiled national income statistics in November 2005. Data have been revised and released every 5 years, for years ending in “4” and “9”, according to system of national accounts, sourcing from Industrial and Commercial Census, etc. Industrial classification has been revised, according to the eighth edition of Standard Industrial Classification of the Republic of China, and related date have been traced back to 1981.
     This country started preparation of statistics on personal income distribution in 1964, a sampling survey on household income and expenditure in the Taiwan area. This survey adopts a stratified two-stage sampling method with counties and cities as subpopulations. The Ts'un and Li, a basic administrative unit, is designated as the primary sampling unit (PSU), and the household in the PSU is the secondary sampling unit (SSU). The universal sampling rate is about 0.20%, which is about 15,857 households.
     The objects of the family income and expenditure sampling survey are R.O.C. nationals dwelling in Taiwan area and the families these R.O.C. nationals have organized to live together economically. Interview and bookkeeping are both adopted in the survey. The survey uses the stratified two-stage sampling method to draw out families for interview, some of which are again drawn to do bookkeeping. Data for dynamic changes are based on cumulation for the entire year while static data, at the end of the survey year. Its history can be divided into 15 stages as follows:
     Stage 1 (1964-1970): During the period, the survey was conducted every other year, and the ratio of samples drawn -- samples as a share of total households-raise in the range from 0.13% to 0.16%.
     Stage 2 (1972-1974): The frequency of the survey was changed to once every year, and the ratio of samples drawn was raised to 0.18%.
     Stage 3 (1975-1977): The survey was undertaken annually, and the ratio of samples drawn was raised to 0.3%.
     Stage 4 (1978-1983): The survey was undertaken annually, and the ratio of samples drawn was raised to 0.4%.
     Stage 5 (1984-1994): The survey was undertaken annually, and the numbers of samples drawn has been fixed at 16,434 households.
     Stage 6 (Since 1995): The survey was undertaken annually, and the numbers of samples drawn has been fixed at 14,706 households.
     Stage 7 (Since 1996): The survey was undertaken annually, and the numbers of samples drawn has been fixed at 13,702 households.
     Stage 8 (Since 1997): The survey was undertaken annually, and the numbers of samples drawn has been fixed at 13,701 households.
     Stage 9 (Since 1998): The survey was undertaken annually, and the numbers of samples drawn has been fixed at 14,031 households.
     Stage 10 (1999-2000): The survey was undertaken annually, and the numbers of samples drawn has been fixed at 13,801 households.
     Stage 11 (Since 2001): The survey was undertaken annually, and the numbers of samples drawn has been fixed at 13,601 households.
     Stage 12 (2002-2005): The survey was undertaken annually, and the numbers of samples drawn has been fixed at 13,681 households.
     Stage 13 (Since 2006): The survey was undertaken annually, and the numbers of samples drawn has been fixed at 13,776 households.
     Stage 14 (Since 2010): The survey was undertaken annually, and the numbers of samples drawn has been fixed at 14,853 households.
     Stage 15 (Since 2011): The survey was undertaken annually, and the numbers of samples drawn has been fixed at 15,857 households.
     In our country, the Input-Output tables had been compiled for the first time in 1960. The first table for 1954 was built by Professor Hsing Mu-huan. The second table for 1955 was compiled by the Joint Commission on Rural Reconstruction, which has been reorganized to the present Council of Agriculture. Subsequently, the Council for International Economic Cooperation and Development, which has been reorganized to the present Council for Economic Planning and Development, compiled the eight tables for 1961, 1964, 1966, 1969, 1971, 1974, 1976, and 1979. The Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics took over the job in 1982, preparing the tables for 1981, 1984, 1986, 1989, 1991, 1994, 1996, 1999, 2001, 2004 and 2006. The Input-Output tables for 2006 is composed of tables for purchasers' trading price, producers' trading prices, input coefficients, impact coefficients, trading of domestic manufactured products, and trading of import products. Besides the benchmark Input-Output tables (commodity by commodity) compiled every 5 years, the annual Input-Output table (commodity by industry) had been compiled every year since 2010. Results will be released in every December of a year following the data year, and the revision for the previous one will be released together.