The full details of my calculations are provided in the technical appendixes. In this chapter I provide an overview of the methods and sources used to estimate the major components of the national income series. In this way I seek to provide the reader with a flavor of the strengths and weaknesses of each component series without going through the technical details of each appendix. I do not discuss the derivation of minor series in this chapter, with the exception of net foreign investment, a series that has little affect on net national product but is of interest in its own right.

PERSONAL CONSUMPTION EXPENDITURES

Personal consumption expenditures are estimated as the sum of retail sales, housing rental outlays, outlays for personal services, consumption of farm products in kind, and military subsistence. The accounts in current and in 1913 constant prices are given in Tables 3.1 and 3.2. Their estimation is described in detail in Appendixes A through E. In this chapter only a flavor of the most important calculations can be provided and only a limited number of references are supplied. Critical assumptions and possible biases form the focus of this discussion; the more routine details are reserved for the technical appendixes.

The two principal component of the consumption series are retail sales and the consumption of farm products in kind. Together, they accounted for 85% of consumption expenditures in 1913.