Bridging the gap: The OECD approach to distributional national accounts

This webinar, recorded on Tuesday, 14 April, explores distributional national accounts – a key framework for understanding how income, consumption, saving and wealth are distributed across households. Moving beyond traditional GDP metrics, it shows how macroeconomic data can be aligned with real‑world inequality patterns to deliver deeper and more policy‑relevant economic insights.

Experts discuss methodologies for aligning microdata with national accounts, addressing technical challenges and micro-macro data gaps. The session emphasises how improved measurement can reveal disparities often hidden in aggregate statistics.

By integrating distributional perspectives, policymakers gain more accurate tools to design inclusive economic strategies. The discussion underscores the importance of transparency, data quality and innovation in shaping future economic analysis.

Jorrit ZWIJNENBURG | Head of National Accounts, OECD

Philip CHAN | Analyst, National Accounts Unit, OECD

Karine TREMBLAY | Project Manager, National Accounts Unit, OECD

00:00 Opening and technical issues
01:00 Welcome and speaker introductions
02:25 Webinar agenda and structure
03:50 How to participate (Mentimeter & chat)
05:00 Audience poll: affiliation
06:45 Audience poll: familiarity with distributional national accounts
08:00 Audience poll: data compiler or user
09:55 Why distributional national accounts matter
15:00 International initiatives and policy context
18:30 Aim and scope of distributional national accounts
22:45 Methodology overview and key challenges
25:20 Distributional results: income, consumption and saving
28:00 Results: income inequality across countries
29:20 Results: saving rates by income group
30:15 Socio‑demographic breakdowns
31:50 Future priorities for income and consumption accounts
32:41 Audience poll: further development at this stage
35:40 Transition to distributional wealth accounts
36:00 Distributional wealth accounts: introduction
38:45 Wealth concepts and scope
41:15 Distributional wealth results and inequality
44:55 Future priorities for wealth accounts
46:10 Audience poll: wealth components to prioritise
49:10 Audience poll: future development priorities
51:50 Key challenges and implementation issues
54:35 Questions from the audience
56:10 Final remarks and next steps
59:10 Closing and thanks

1. What are distributional national accounts and why are they important for measuring economic inequality?

They extend national accounts by distributing income, consumption, and wealth across households, enabling accurate measurement of inequality and economic well-being.

2. How do distributional national accounts differ from traditional GDP and macroeconomic indicators?

Traditional indicators show aggregates, while distributional accounts reveal how those totals are shared across income and wealth groups.

3. What methods are used to allocate national income across households and individuals?

They align microdata (surveys and administrative records) with national accounts through adjustment, imputation, scaling, and equivalence methods.

4. How can distributional data improve policymaking and economic analysis?

They enable policymakers to assess who gains or loses from growth, inflation, and policy changes, supporting more targeted and inclusive interventions.

5. What challenges arise when integrating microdata with national accounts statistics?

Key challenges include micro-macro gaps, undercoverage of high-income households, missing variables, and differences in statistical concepts and definitions.