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Comparative National Balance Sheets
A Study of Twenty Countries, 1688-1979
Raymond W. Goldsmith
University of Chicago Press, 1985
Raymond W. Goldsmith has combined his experience, good sense, and flair with figures to construct this groundbreaking comparative study of the balance sheets of twenty of the largest nations. A pioneer in the field of national accounts, Goldsmith now presents a work that will be a valuable tool in tracking the economic progress of and between nations.

The majority of the balance sheets were created especially for this project, their components gleaned from fragmentary and heterogeneous data. There are approximately 3,500 entries, each measuring the value of one type of tangible or financial asset or liability at a given date. Goldsmith's estimates are keyed to fifteen benchmark dates in the economic progress of the cited nations, and for twelve nations he was able to construct balance sheets dating back to the nineteenth century or earlier. Combined, worldwide balance sheet are included for 1950 and 1978.

Comparative National Balance Sheets will provide an essential basis for the quantitative analysis of the long-term financial development of these nations. In addition to national balance sheets for all large countries except Brazil and China, sectoral balance sheets for France, Germany, Great Britain, India, Japan, and the United States in the postwar period are also included.
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front cover of The National Balance Sheet of the United States, 1953-1980
The National Balance Sheet of the United States, 1953-1980
Raymond W. Goldsmith
University of Chicago Press, 1982
In what constitutes a landmark in the field of national accounts, Raymond W. Goldsmith gives detailed estimates of the nation's assets and liabilities year by year from 1953 through 1975 and for the benchmark years of 1900, 1929, and 1980. Special features of this work include presentation of data sector by sector, which casts light on the changing roles of financial institutions, and Goldsmith's expression of data in the form of ratios rather than in absolute dollar values, a device that makes the material both more informative and easier to absorb.

The most comprehensive and extensive study of national wealth ever attempted, The National Balance Sheet will be a rich resource for researchers and users of national accounts.
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