A new system of national and regional accounts has been launched by Eurostat and the EU Member States. An overview has been published by Eurostat. The revised system reflects the European economy’s evolution from manufacturing and agricultural activities over past decades, to a knowledge-based economy in the 21st Century. The new system – known as ESA2010 – also reflects greater interaction between globalisation and regionalisation processes. Eurostat and EU national statistical agencies have also improved data gathering, access, collation and analysis techniques. One of the most important changes is the recalibration of R&D-related data. “Research and development expenditure is recorded as gross fixed capital formation and no longer as current expenditure.” French and German guides have also been published. Technical documentation has been linked from the EUI Library’s Eurostat data resource page.

The Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel was awarded to Jean Tirole “for his analysis of market power and regulation” on 13 October. Professor Tirole is chairman of the Fondation Jean-Jacques Laffont at the Toulouse School of Economics, and scientific director of the Institut d’Economie Industrielle (IDEI), Toulouse. The awarding ceremony will take place on 10 December. Read full details of the award on the Nobel Foundation site.

During the month of October, EUI members have an opportunity to test the newly upgraded IMF eLibrary. Please register when the platform homepage opens. It is important that the Library receive feedback on this online resource, because IMF data are currently provided via networked CD-roms at the EUI. Feedback will assist staff in evaluating the online version with a view to acquiring access. The IMF eLibrary provides online access to all major IMF data series; Balance of Payments Statistics (BOPS); Direction of Trade Statistics (DOTS), Government Finance Statistics (GFS), International Finance Statistics (IFS) and the full collection of IMF eBooks, country reports and occasional papers. Please send feedback to: [email protected].