Constructing a social accounting matrix for Saudi Arabia: sources and methods

Abstract

Even though Saudi Arabia is the largest country in the Middle East, and despite the magnitude of its economy, there have been no attempts to build a social accounting matrix (SAM) for Saudi Arabia based on the country’s real, official data. Thus, this study documents the construction procedures of the 2017 SAM for Saudi Arabia using high-quality official statistics. The procedures can be divided into two main steps. First, a highly aggregated macro-SAM is constructed. Second, the macro-SAM is disaggregated into a micro-SAM with the macro-SAM entries serving as control totals for sub-matrices of the micro-SAM. The results exhibit consistency and balance, which comprises a decent level of disaggregation for sectors via 54 accounts that are relevant for policy evaluation: 18 production activities, 18 commodities accounts, 4 factors of production, 10 institutions, and 4 other accounts. The resulting SAM is useful because it provides a consistent framework for socio-economic accounting of the Saudi economy.

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