HC Deb 08 May 1973 vol 856 cc91-3W
Mr. Knox

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what proportion of the gross national product was represented by savings, industrial investment and public sector investment in 1958, 1971 and 1972; and, from information available

SAVINGS AND INVESTMENT AS A PERCENTAGE OF GROSS NATIONAL PRODUCT AT FACTOR COST
Gross Fixed investment
saving1 Industrial2 Public sector
(a) (b)
Belgium—
1958 … … … 21.8 5.93 N.A. 1.8
1971 … … … 28.7 7.73 N.A. 4.6
France—
1958 … … … 23.1 8.94 8.35 2.6
1971 … … … 31.8 9.74 N.A. 3.7
Germany—
1958 … … … 30.2 9.26 N.A. 3.16
1971 … … … 31.2 N.A. N.A. 4.7
Italy—
1958 … … … 26.1 7.5 N.A. 3.5
1971 … … … 24.6 7.2 N.A. 1.9
Luxembourg—
1958 … … … 290.0 11.77 9.55 N.A
1971 … … … N.A N.A. N.A N.A
Netherlands—
1958 … … … 29.3 7.0 8.55 4.2
1971 … … … 28.8 8.2 N.A. 5.4
United Kingdom—
1958 … … … 19.5 7.2 7.2 1.7
1971 … … … 22.8 6.7 9.3 3.5
1972 … … … 19.4 5.9 8.8 3.6
1 After deducting stock appreciation.
2 Mining, quarrying, manufacturing, construction, gas, electricity and water.
3 Including car dealers.
4 Including fishing.
5 Derived from UN Yearbook of National Accounts Statistics 1969.
6 Derived from 1968 OECD return.
7 Including transport and communications.

from international sources, what are the equivalent figures for Germany, France, Italy, Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands.

Mr. Nott

The information is given in the table below and is mainly derived from the National Accounts 1958–68 and National Accounts 1961–71 published by the Statistical Office of the European Communities. Where other sources have been used these are indicated. The figures for the United Kingdom take account of the latest published estimates and are adjusted to international definitions. Figures for the public sector as used in the United Kingdom—that is, including public corporations and other public enterprises—are not available for other countries for recent years. The table therefore shows two columns for public sector investment (a) including public enterprises and (b) excluding public enterprises. There is some duplication between the figures in column (a) and those for "industrial" investment. Figures for 1972 are not yet available for the six original Common Market countries.

Mr. Meacher

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will state, for the latest available date for which comprehensive information is available, the size of the gross national product of the 50 wealthiest countries in the world and the size of the total net assets of the 50 largest companies in the world.

Mr. Nott

The latest estimates of gross domestic product, national income and national disposable income for most countries of the world, expressed in US dollars both in total and on a per capita basis, can be found in the United Nations Yearbook of National Accounts Statistics 1971 (Volume III Tables 1A, B and C). The USSR and other centrally planned economies do not compile national accounts estimates in accordance with the UN system of National Accounts and comparable figures for these countries are not available. The best available figures of total net assets of companies are the unofficial estimates published in "Fortune" magazine; these are also expressed in US dollars and the latest were in the August 1972 issue— the 300 largest companies outside the USA, ranked by sales—and in the May 1972 issue—the 500 largest US companies. Figures of company profits or income which are more nearly comparable with a measure of current activity such as national income, are also given but are shown after deduction of tax.