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.