Social accounting matrix

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A Social Accounting Matrix (SAM) represents flows of all economic transactions that take place within an economy (regional or national). It is a statistical representation of the economic and social structure of a country. SAMs refer to a single year providing a static picture of the economy.

SAMs are square (columns equal rows) in the sense that all institutional agents (Firms,Households, Government and Foreign sector) are both buyers and sellers. Columns represent buyers (expenditures) and rows represent sellers (receipts).

References

1. Pyatt and Round, "Social Accounting Matrices: A Basis for Planning", The World Bank, 1985.