4.104 Definition:
Social transfers in kind (D.63) consist of individual goods and services provided as transfers in kind to individual households by government units and NPISHs, whether purchased on the market or produced as non-market output by government units or NPISHs. They may be financed out of taxation, other government income or social security contributions, or out of donations and property income in the case of NPISHs.
Although some of the non-market services produced by NPISHs have some of the
characteristics of collective services, all the non-market services produced by
NPISHs are, for simplicity and by convention, treated as individual in nature.
Services provided free, or at prices that are not economically significant, to
households are described as individual services to distinguish them from
collective services provided to the community as a whole, or large sections of the
community. Individual services consist mainly of education and health services,
although other kinds of services such as housing services, cultural and
recreational services are also frequently provided.
The heading social transfers in kind (D.63) includes social benefits in kind
and transfers of individual non-market goods or services: