Glossary "B"
Balance of payments. Record of transactions between U.S. residents and foreign residents during a given time period. Includes transactions in goods, services, income, assets, and liabilities. It is broken down into the current accounts (international), capital accounts (international), and financial accounts (international).
Balance on current account. Record of net receipts or payments on goods, services, income, and unilateral current transfers. Current transfers include U.S. government grants to foreign countries, private remittances, and other current transfers. Related terms: Balance on goods, Balance on goods and services.
Balance on current account, national income and product accounts. Current receipts from the rest of the world less current payments to the rest of the world, formerly called "net foreign investment." Current receipts equal exports of goods and services plus income receipts from the rest of the world; current payments are the sum of imports of goods and services, income payments to the rest of the world, and current taxes and transfer payments to the rest of the world (net).
Balance on goods. Record of the difference between exports of goods and imports of goods. Related terms: Balance on current account, Balance on goods and services.
Balance on goods and services. Record of the difference between exports of goods and services and imports of goods and services. In the broad sense, this balance is conceptually equal to net exports of goods and services, which is a component of gross domestic product (GDP). Related terms: Balance on current account, Balance on goods.
Base period. The period from which the weights for a measurement series are derived. The national income and product accounts (NIPAs) currently use the year 2000 as the base period. Related terms: Chained-dollar estimate, Laspeyres price index, Paasche price index.
Base-period. See Base period
Benchmark I-O accounts. See Benchmark input-output (I-O) accounts
Benchmark input-output (I-O) accounts. Statistical description–presented in a make table, use table, direct requirements table, and total requirements tables–of the production of goods and services and the transaction flows of goods and services between different industries and to different components of final uses. These accounts are prepared every five years, coinciding with economic census years. Related terms: Annual input-output (I-O) accounts, Input-output (I-O) accounts.
Benchmark input-output accounts. See Benchmark input-output (I-O) accounts
BPT. See Business, professional, and technical services transactions (BPT)
Business current transfer payments (net). Net payments by businesses to persons, government, and the rest of the world for which no current services are performed. Related terms: Business current transfer payments to government (net), Business current transfer payments to persons (net), Business current transfer payments to the rest of the world (net).
Business current transfer payments to government (net). Consists of payments to the Federal government in the form of premiums for deposit insurance, fees for regulatory and inspection activities, and fines; payments to state and local governments in the form of fines, tobacco settlements, and donations; and net insurance settlements paid to governments as policyholders. Related terms: Business current transfer payments (net), Business current transfer payments to persons (net), Business current transfer payments to the rest of the world (net).
Business current transfer payments to persons (net). Consists of net insurance settlements and income payments by businesses to persons for which no current services are performed. Related terms: Business current transfer payments (net), Business current transfer payments to government (net), Business current transfer payments to the rest of the world (net).
Business current transfer payments to the rest of the world (net). Net insurance settlements paid to the rest of the world as policyholders. Excludes taxes paid by domestic corporations to foreign governments. Related terms: Business current transfer payments (net), Business current transfer payments to government (net), Business current transfer payments to persons (net).
Business sector. All corporate and noncorporate private entities organized for profit and certain other entities that are treated as businesses in the national income and product accounts (NIPAs), including mutual financial institutions, private noninsured pension funds, cooperatives, nonprofit organizations that primarily serve businesses, Federal Reserve banks, federally sponsored credit agencies, and government enterprises. Related terms: General government sector, Households and institutions sector.
Business, professional, and technical services transactions. See Business, professional, and technical services transactions (BPT)
Business, professional, and technical services transactions (BPT). Transactions covering a wide range of private services sold to or purchased from foreigners, such as advertising, telecommunications, computer and data processing services, and accounting and legal services.
