ESCAP proposed core set of economic statistics

1. ESCAP proposed core set of economic statistics Jan Smit Regional Adviser on Statistics, ESCAP smit1@un.org

2. Overview • What the Core Set is expected to achieve • Some elaborations and clarifications on discussion note • The proposed Core Set and its place in the Regional Programme for the Improvement of Economic Statistics • Immediate next steps ESCAP proposed core set of economic statistics

3. Core Set is indicative, not prescriptive… • The Core Set is a desired set of statistics • Even then, characteristics (industry, commodity detail, etc.) of these statistics are country-specific • However, international best practices and reporting strongly suggest some minimal requirements ESCAP proposed core set of economic statistics

4. Core Set and information requirements • Core Set will not necessarily satisfy all needs • Listed under point 2.1 (p.2) of discussion note • But will be a major step forward for most developing countries in the region • Core Set does not provide all of the data needed to compile complex derived statistics such as SNA and BOP outputs • Some needed source data are implicit (and not explicitly listed in the Core Set) • For some advanced SNA outputs, such as balance sheets and financial accounts, additional data are needed not listed in the Core Set ESCAP proposed core set of economic statistics

5. Core Set and UNSD HF statistics set • HF set: presented and discussed at International Seminar on Early Warning and Business Cycle Indicators • Scheveningen, The Netherlands, December 2090 • Probably scope for showing how Core Set aligns with HF set • Analytical framework adopted for HF domains might be useful to provide further clarification for the selection domains in the Core Set ESCAP proposed core set of economic statistics

6. Core Set is still in draft form • Tables still have to be closely reviewed for completeness and accuracy • Applies especially to Annex II (pp. 11-15) in the discussion note (setting out the links between the Core Set and indicative SNA data needs) ESCAP proposed core set of economic statistics

7. Why Programme on Economic Statistics? • Adoption of 2008 SNA by UNSC • Global economic crisis highlights need for better economic statistics in many countries • Realization that ongoing / past capacity building efforts for economic statistics have been less than optimal because of – among others - a lack of sharing information and cooperation between players • 2009 UNSC session requested ESCAP to establish an informal mechanism for donor coordination • Taking account of existing mechanisms, roles and responsibilities ESCAP proposed core set of economic statistics

8. Relevance of 2008 SNA adoption • Realization that most developing Asia-Pacific countries have still not been able to fully implement 1993 SNA • Only ~ 1/4 of countries in the region produce all 7 tables of the minimum requirement dataset (MRDS) (~ ½ produce ≥ 6 tables) • Proportions are lower for low-income countries, South-East Asia and the Pacific • And compare unfavourably with those for Latin America and the Caribbean ESCAP proposed core set of economic statistics

9. SNA implementation status in the region ESCAP proposed core set of economic statistics

10. Regional Programme stakeholders • RP not an ESCAP alone programme • Determined by country-level needs • In partnership with national, subregional, regional and global players • Technical Advisory Group membership: • Countries: AFG, AUS, IND, KAZ, MNG, NZL • Subregional: ASEAN Secretariat, Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) Secretariat, Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC) • Regional: Asian Development Bank (ADB) • Global: Eurostat, FAO, IMF ESCAP proposed core set of economic statistics

11. Approach to development of Programme • Agree on a core set of economic statistics that each country in the region should be able to produce • Assess countries’ capacity to produce economic statistics, and determine what main impediments to produce core set are • Initial assessment done; need for continuous (e.g. annual) monitoring • Identify what countries & agencies are doing / planning to do to overcome capacity constraints • Need for ongoing information sharing / collection ESCAP proposed core set of economic statistics

12. Programme development approach (cont.) • Identify, for each country, what the remaining gaps in capacity are • Determine, for and with each country, what national priorities to fill the gaps are • Develop national work plans to address the priorities by: • Integrating capacity building requirements for economic statistics in National Strategies for the Development of Statistics • Mobilizing (advocating for the mobilization) of national and internationally resources (funding) • Implementing / monitoring the work plans ESCAP proposed core set of economic statistics

13. Immediate next steps • Finalize the Regional Programme document • First half 2010 • Finalize the proposed Core Set • For submission to CST 2 • Set up the informal coordination mechanism • Assess capacity to produce Core Set and identify key constraints in some countries • Through assessment missions • Provide other ad-hoc advisory services in the area of economic statistics • Upon country request ESCAP proposed core set of economic statistics

14. Informal coordination mechanism • Crucial to obtain info on ongoing and planned activities from all players at all levels: • National • Subregional, regional and global • Make use of existing mechanisms to the highest extent possible • Like PRESS, NSDSs, etc. • No need for ESCAP to go directly to countries if info is already available at the subregional level • Like ASEAN Secretariat, SPC, CIS-Stat ESCAP proposed core set of economic statistics

15. Capacity assessment missions • Assess, through missions, capacity to produce Core Set and identify main constraints • To help to design specific modalities / interventions for technical assistance • Some countries • In different subregions and at different levels of statistical development ESCAP proposed core set of economic statistics