Policy Challenges Impacting Statistical Activities

1. 4th Regional Conference of Heads of Statistics and Planning Noumea, July 22 – 26, 2013Pressing and newly emerging policy challenges impacting on statistical activitiesPFTAC

2. Outline National accounts as an integrated framework Use and limitations of administrative data Necessity to improve business survey data quality and practical considerations

3. National accounts as in integrated framework • The SNA has a key statistical function by serving as a coordinating framework for economic statistics: • balance of payments statistics; • government finance statistics; • system of environmental-economic accounting • international manuals for consumer and producer price indices; • …

4. National accounts as in integrated framework • SNA also offers flexibility depending on capabilities and analytical needs: • In many PICs with limited resources, the main output of national accounts is GDP by production at current and constant prices with limited industry details • In PICs with better statistical capacities, estimates are more detailed and based on more sophisticated compilation methods

5. National accounts as in integrated framework • To address specific analytical or policy needs, the development of satellite accounts enables the production of SNA-compliant estimates focusing on specific aspects of the economy: • tourism accounts • environmental satellite accounts

6. Improving national accounts National accounts use a broad range of data sources including but not limited to business account data, administrative data or household surveys The quality of national accounts estimates depends heavily on the quality of data sources.

7. Improving national accounts VAT data provide a valuable source of information VAT data available in a number of PICs but administrative data have shortcomings Necessity to liaise with tax offices for better data integration and for better coverage of statistical needs where VAT is developed (for capital formation)

8. Improving national accounts • Business surveys provide key data sources for the compilation of data items including but not limited to: • gross output • intermediate consumption • gross capital formation • compensation of employees. • Key components for the compilation of GDP

9. Improving national accounts Business surveys are regularly conducted in Fiji, Palau, Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands Other countries also run irregular business surveys for benchmarking purposes.

10. Improving national accounts Improving the availability and the quality of business data would be a powerful instrument to economic statistics including national accounts statistics Provision of external assistance to NSOs to conduct business surveys in some PICs

11. Improving national accounts • Financial and technical assistance would be required for: • design of the questionnaire • planning • sampling • data analysis • A prerequisite would be the creation/improvement of business registers

12. Improving national accounts • Coverage, comprehensiveness, frequency of business surveys depend on needs: • existence of good alternative indicators (VAT) • development of periodic benchmarks • additional resources could be provided to NSOs conducting business surveys but lacking resources • more targeted surveys could address specific data issues