Measuring (socio-)economic systems using the SNA. A SAM approach.

A SAM (Social Accounting Matrix) can be an important tool for measuring a society’s activity, underlying which there are systems that can be worked upon in different ways. This tool will be presented as an alternative support for those who intervene in the policymaking process, which can be directed towards different parts of those systems. Both numerical and algebraic versions of the SAM will be referred to, while the method to be used in constructing the former from the System of National Accounts (SNA), implemented by the United Nations, will be examined. The SAM’s basic structure and consistency within the whole system will be studied, as well as any possible disaggregations, extensions, aggregates, indicators and balances that can be calculated. Other aspects beyond that basic structure will also be examined.