Belgian National Income during the Interwar Period

Reconstruction of the Database

E. Buyst, Martine Goossens, and Stef Peeters

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Monograph - paperback

Historical national accounting is nowadays recognized as an important field of research in economic history. Nevertheless the sub discipline also receives a lot of criticism. Several estimates would be based on shaky data material so that the outcome would in part reflect the personal opinion of those who produced the series. Moreover in some publications the estimation methods are explained in very vague terms thereby making a duplication of the results almost impossible. This book tries to remedy these critiques. The estimation procedures of the various components of Belgian national income between 1920 and 1939 are thoroughly discussed and explained.

The book also falsifies the proposition that "Belgium is a country without statistics". There are many series available but they are scattered over many publications and therefore often difficult to find. One merit of this book is that it brings together quantitative material from very diverse sources and origins. Not only economic historians will benefit from the wealth of statistics presented here, but also e.g. social historians.

Preface
Introduction
Table of contents
List of abbreviations
List of tables and graphs

Chapter 1. Pay of manual workers in the private sector in Belgium

Section 1. Definitions and summary of contents of the six chapters concerning income from paid employment
Section 2. Pay of manual workers employed in enterprises in industry, trade and other service sectors
Section 3. Pay of homeworkers, agricultural workers, fishermen and seamen

Chapter 2. Pay of white-collar workers in the private sector

Section 1. Definition of the heading
Section 2. Employment of white-collar workers in industry and commerce
Section 3. Pay of white-collar workers in industry and trade
Section 4. Employment and pay of other white-collar workers

Chapter 3. Pay of domestic staff, border-workers and seasonal workers employed abroad

Section 1. Definition of the heading
Section 2. Pay of domestic staff
Section 3. Pay of domestic workers
Section 4. Pay of seasonal workers employed abroad

Chapter 4. Employers' social security contributions

Section 1. Definition of the heading
Section 2. Employer's contributions to mineworkers' pensions
Section 3. Employer's contributions to manual workers' pensions
Section 4. Employer's contributions to white-collar workers' pensions
Section 5. Employer's contributions to family allowances
Section 6. Employer's contributions to job-related sickness benefit
Section 7. Employer's contributions to industrial accident insurance

 Chapter 5. Pay and pensions of the government staff

Section 1. Definition of the heading

Section 2. Central government: civil service, state education and military establishment: total pay and pensions

Section 3. Provinces and municipalities: civil service
Section 4. Provincial and municipal education (including pay subsidies)

Section 5. Free education
Section 6. State railways/NMBS
Section 7. RTT, the postal service and the Belgian aviation authority
Section 8. Public companies controlled by the provinces and municipalities

Chapter 6. Income from paid employment: additions and adjustments

Section 1. Content of the heading
Section 2. The additions and corrections made

Chapter 7. Income from entrepreneurship in agriculture, horticulture and forestry

Section 1. Content of the chapter and principal sources
Section 2. Gross value of agricultural and horticultural production
Section 3. Inputs and income from entrepreneurship in agriculture and horticulture
Section 4. Self-employed income from woods not controlled by the forestry commission

Chapter 8. Entrepreneurial income of the professions, independent traders, craftsmen and partnerships

Section 1. Definition of the heading
Section 2. The system of income tax and the fiscal statistics relating to trade tax
Section 3. Entrepreneurial income of independent traders and craftsmen
Section 4. The entrepreneurial income of the professions
Section 5. The entrepreneurial income of partnerships

Chapter 9. Interest payments to the personal sector

Section 1. Definitions and survey of contents of the three chapters dealing with income from property accruing to the personal sector
Section 2. Interest from saving deposits
Section 3. Interest on bank deposits accruing to the personal sector
Section 4. Imputed interest on the actuarial reserves of life insurance companies
Section 5. Interest on government securities accruing to the personal sector
Section 6. Interest from bond loans transacted by companies
Section 7. Interest on mortgage loans accruing to private persons
Section 8. Imputed interest relating to services provided free of charge by banks and other financial intermediaries

Chapter 10. Rents (received or imputed) payable to private individuals

Section 1. Definition of the heading
Section 2. Gross rent from improved properties
Section 3. Gross rent from unimproved properties
Section 4. Charges and net rent

Chapter 11. Dividends, returns on investment abroad, bonuses and grants accruing to private individuals

Section 1. Definition of the heading and discussion of the sources
Section 2. Dividends distributed by Belgian companies principally trading in Belgium
Section 3. Dividends paid out by Belgian companies principally trading in the colonies or abroad
Section 4. Earnings from investments abroad
Section 5. Directors bonuses
Section 6. Corporate grants

Chapter 12. Reserved profits of corporations

Section 1. Definition of the heading
Section 2. Non-distributed profits of joint-stock companies
Section 3. Undistributed profits of autonomous public institutions

Chapter 13. Direct taxation of companies of all legal forms

Section 1. Definition of the heading
Section 2. Trade tax
Section 3. Financial securities tax
Section 4. Land tax
Section 5. National crisis tax

Chapter 14. Income from property and entrepreneurial income accruing to the government

Section 1. Imputed net rent
Section 2. Interest, dividends, rent income, profits and losses

Chapter 15. Interest on the public dept

Section 1. Definitions and summary of contents
Section 2. Interest on the state of dept
Section 3. Interest on local government dept

Chapter 16. Depreciation

Section 1. Definition and reconstruction problems
Section 2. The post-war estimates by DULBEA and NIS
Section 3. Estimate of depreciation during the inter-war period

Chapter 17. Indirect taxes and subsidies

Section 1. Indirect taxes
Section 2. Subsidies

General conclusion
Annex
Bibliography

Format: Monograph - paperback

Size: 240 × 160 × 30 mm

421 pages

ISBN: 9789058673497

Publication: November 18, 2005

Series: Studies in Social and Economic History 27

Languages: English

Stock item number: 45628