THE
LIMITS OF THE NATIONAL ECONOMY
2.04
The units, whether institutional, local kind-of-activity or of
homogeneous production, which constitute the economy of a country
and whose transactions are recorded in the ESA, are those which
have a centre of economic interest on the economic territory of
that country. These units, known as resident units, may or may
not have the nationality of that country, may or may not be legal
entities, and may or may not be present on the economic territory
of the country at the time they carry out a transaction. Having
thus defined the limits of the national economy in terms of
resident units, it is necessary to define the meaning of the
terms economic territory and centre of economic interest.
2.05
The term economic territory means:
- the geographic territory
administered by a government within which persons, goods,
services and capital move freely;
- any free zones, including
bonded warehouses and factories under customs control;
- the national air-space,
territorial waters and the continental shelf lying in
international waters, over which the country enjoys exclusive
rights ;
- territorial enclaves {i.e.
geographic territories situated in the rest of the world and
used, under international treaties or agreements between States,
by general government agencies of the country (embassies,
consulates, military bases, scientific bases, etc.)};
- deposits of oil, natural gas,
etc. in international waters outside the continental shelf of the
country, worked by units resident in the territory as defined in
the preceding sub-paragraphs.
2.06
The economic territory does not include extraterritorial enclaves
(i.e. the parts of the country's own
geographic territory used by general government agencies of other
countries, by the Institutions of the European Union or by
international organisations under international treaties or
agreements between States ).
2.07
.
The term centre of economic interest indicates the fact there
exists some location within the economic territory on, or from,
which a unit engages, and intends to continue to engage, in
economic activities and transactions on a significant scale,
either indefinitely or over a finite but long period of time (a
year or more). It follows that a unit which carries out such
transactions on the economic territory of several countries is
deemed to have a centre of economic interest in each of them. The
ownership of land and buildings within the economic territory is
deemed to be sufficient in itself for the owner to have a centre
of economic interest there.
2.08
. On
the basis of these definitions, units deemed to be residents of a
country can be sub-divided into:
- units which are principally
engaged in production, finance, insurance or redistribution, in
respect of all their transactions except those relating to
ownership of land and buildings;
- units which are principally
engaged in consumption , in respect of all their transactions
except those relating to ownership of land and buildings;
- all units in their capacity as
owners of land and buildings with the exception of owners of
extraterritorial enclaves which are part of the economic
territory of other countries or are States sui generis
(see paragraph 2.06).
2.09
In
the case of units which are principally engaged in production,
finance, insurance or redistribution, in respect of all their
transactions except those relating to ownership of land and
buildings, the following two cases may be distinguished:
- activity conducted exclusively
on the economic territory of the country: units which carry out
such activity are resident units of the country;
- activity conducted for a year
or more on the economic territories of several countries: only
that part of the unit which has a centre of economic interest on
the economic territory of the country is deemed to be a resident
unit. It may be:
(1) either an institutional
resident unit (see paragraph 2.12.), whose
activities conducted for a year or more in the rest of the world
are excluded and treated separately or
(2) a notional resident unit (see
paragraph 2.15.), in respect of the activity conducted in
the country for a year or more by a unit which is resident in
another country .
2.10
In
the case of units which are principally engaged in consumption,
except in their capacity as owners of land and buildings,
households which have a centre of economic interest in the
country are deemed to be resident units, even if they go abroad
for short periods (less than a year). They include, in
particular, the following:
- border workers, i.e. people who
cross the frontier daily to work in a neighbouring country;
- seasonal workers, i.e. people
who leave the country for several months, but less than a year,
to work in another country in sectors in which additional
manpower is needed periodically;
- tourists, patients, students ,
visiting officials, businessmen, salesmen, artists and crew
members who travel abroad;
- locally recruited staff working
in the extraterritorial enclaves of foreign governments;
- the staff of the Institutions
of the European Union and of civilian or military international
organisations which have their headquarters in extra-territorial
enclaves;
- the official, civilian or
military representatives of the government of the country
(including their households) established in territorial enclaves.
2.11
All units in their capacity as owners of land and/or buildings
which form part of the economic territory are deemed to be
resident units or notional resident units (see paragraph 2.15) of the
country in which the land or buildings in question are located.