<P> The national income and product accounts (NIPA) are part of the national accounts of the United States . They are produced by the Bureau of Economic Analysis of the Department of Commerce . They are one of the main sources of data on general economic activity in the United States . </P> <P> They use double - entry accounting to report the monetary value and sources of output produced in the country and the distribution of incomes that production generates . Data are available at the national and industry levels . </P> <P> Seven summary accounts are published, as well as a much larger number of more specific accounts . The first summary account shows gross domestic product (GDP) and its major components . The table summarizes national income on the left (debit, revenue) side and national product on the right (credit, expense) side of a two - column accounting report . Thus the left side gives GDP by the income method, and the right side gives GDP by the expenditure method . The GDP is given on the bottom line of both sides of the report . GDP must have the same value on both sides of the account . This is because income and expenditure are defined in a way that forces them to be equal (see accounting identity). We show the 2003 table later in this article; we present the left side first for convenient screen display . </P>

Who developed the first set of national income accounts for the us