Institutional Units and Sectors 27
state or local, with which they are most closely associ-
ated. For some analyses, it may be useful to combine
the statistics for state and local governments.
Social security funds.
2.100 A social security fund is a particular kind
of government unit that is devoted to the operation of
one or more social security schemes.^30 In macroeco-
nomic statistics, a social security fund is recognized if
it meets the criteria to be an institutional unit and if it:
- Is organized and managed separately from the
other activities of government units - Holds its assets and liabilities separately from
other government units - Engages in fi nancial transactions on its own
account.
2.101 Social security schemes are social insurance
schemes covering the community as a whole, or large
sections of the community, and are imposed and con-
trolled by government units. Social insurance schemes
provide social protection and require formal participa-
tion by the benefi ciaries, evidenced by the payment
of contributions (actual or imputed). Participation in
social security schemes is therefore also evidenced by
the payment of contributions (actual or imputed) by
the benefi ciaries. Th ese schemes cover a wide variety of
programs, providing benefi ts in cash or in kind for old
age, invalidity or death, survivors, sickness and mater-
nity, work-related injury, unemployment, family allow-
ance, health care, etc. Th ere is not necessarily a direct
link between the amount of the contributions payable
by an individual and the benefi ts receivable.
2.102 However, not all social security schemes are
organized and managed by social security funds; for
example, a social security scheme for sickness may
be operated by a national health ministry. If there is
an autonomous employment-related pension fund
(i.e., a separate institutional unit) to provide govern-
ment employee pensions, this fund should be ex-
cluded from social security funds and be classifi ed
as a public fi nancial corporation if under control
of government, or otherwise as a private fi nancial
corporation (see paragraphs A2.47–A2.53). A non-
autonomous employment-related pension scheme
(^30) Appendix 2 provides a detailed description of the nature of
social protection, including social security.
for government employees that is administered by a
social security fund remains part of social security
funds. However, if the conditions for participation
and benefi ts payable, as determined by the employ-
ment contract, diff er from those of the social security
scheme for nongovernment employee participants,
an employment-related pension scheme exists. GFS
recognizes liabilities for employment-related pension
entitlements. Th erefore, economic fl ows and stock
positions related to this pension scheme should be
distinguished within the social security fund (see
paragraphs 6.25 and 7.194).
2.103 Consistent with the 2008 SNA, this Manual
allows for social security funds to be accommodated
in two alternative sets of subsectors of general govern-
ment, as described in paragraph 2.78.
Th e Public Corporations Sector and Its Subsectors
Th e public corporations subsector
2.104 Th e public corporations subsector consists
of all resident corporations controlled by government
units or by other public corporations. It is possible
that some entities that are legally constituted as cor-
porations may not be classifi ed as corporations for
statistical purposes if they do not charge economically
signifi cant prices. Public corporations may be involved
in quasi-fi scal operations (i.e., they carry out govern-
ment operations at the behest of the government units
that control them—see paragraph 2.4). As such, pub-
lic corporations may exist to serve as an instrument of
public (or fi scal) policy for government. Most directly,
a public corporation can engage in specifi c transac-
tions to carry out a government operation, such as
lending to particular parties at a lower-than-market
interest rate or selling their product, such as electric
power, to selected customers at reduced rates. More
generally, however, a public corporation can carry out
fi scal policy by employing more staff than required,
purchasing extra inputs, paying above-market prices
for inputs, or selling a large share of its output for
prices that are less than what the market price would
be if only private producers were involved.
2.105 Public corporations may be created to: gen-
erate profi ts for general government; protect key re-
sources; provide competition where barriers to entry
may be large; and provide basic services where costs
are prohibitive. Th ese public corporations are oft en