Définition
In the national annual and quarterly accounts, the aggregates expressed in volume are published at the chained prices of the previous year. This mode of calculation gives a better account of the aggregates than the method using constant prices. With the first method, the weight of each component of the aggregate is re-estimated each year; with the second method, the weighting is that of the base year. Chain-linking enables to take in account the structural changes in the economy (relative prices, weight of each product in consumption expenditures, etc.) which is particularly desirable for series on long period or components with quick changes.
This better economic representation nonetheless comes with a price- the disappearance of additivity. Total consumption, for example, is not the sum of consumption of goods and the consumption of services.