Skip to main content

August 1971

The New Look for the Balance of Payments

by Christopher Bach and Anatol Balbach

The recent revision by the Department of Commerce in the presentation of balance-of-payments statistics reflects the results of a review begun last year. The Interagency Committee on Balance of Payments Statistics, convened by the Office of Management and Budget, conducted the project as a response to increasing dissatisfaction in Government, business, and academic circles with the previous presentation of the statistics, and with an analysis which focused primarily on the liquidity balance and the official reserve transactions balance.