Inter-Agency Group on Economic and Financial Statistics (IAG) and the G-20 Data Gaps Initiative

1. Inter-Agency Group on Economic and Financial Statistics (IAG)and the G-20 Data Gaps Initiative Laurs Nørlund Director - National Accounts, Prices and Key Indicators Eurostat - European Commission Side Event at the43rd Session of the United Nations Statistical Commission New York – 29 February 2012

2. Outline • The crisis and the identification of data gaps • The reaction of the Statistical System • Setting up an international framework • Selected examples: • Real estate prices • Sector accounts • Distributional information IAG – Side event 43rd Session UNSC

3. Statistics and the crisis • The crisis generated a number of challenges for official statisticians • Financial, economic and political actors turned to statistics to describe the situation and to detect, assess and forecast these phenomena • Increased number of requests for relevant statistical data in a timely and reliable fashion • Statistical authorities has been under scrutiny, as well as their capacity to face these challenges IAG – Side event 43rd Session UNSC

4. The crisis and the identification of the gaps • The crisis profoundly impacted on official statistics and the way they are organised • Data gaps – ad hoc initiatives • International comparability • Timeliness and relevance • New challenges (e.g. globalisation) • Communication • Organisational aspects • More efficient use of available (scarse) resources IAG – Side event 43rd Session UNSC

5. What did we learn from the crisis? • Sufficient advanced warning: lessons to be learnt • Monitoring of the impacts on economy, society and environment • Monitoring of political responses and their impacts Foresee and mitigate a possible crisis and support the treatment of damages by means of high quality statistical information and excellent communication IAG – Side event 43rd Session UNSC

6. The domino effect of the crisis:what about statistics? • Forecasts • Financial indicators • Economic indicators • Social Indicators • Environmental Indicators IAG – Side event 43rd Session UNSC

7. Indicators: the way forward • Identify the ideal « statitical toolkit » for policy makers and economic and financial actors and structure it in levels suited for different purposes (Principal Global Indicators) • Boost availability and timeliness of a set of internationally comparable key indicators (work of the IAG) • Enhance the availability in weak areas (financial indicators, housing market, integrated indicators, …) • Extend to other involved areas (social statistics, environmental statistics) – e.g. follow-up of Stiglitz report • Re-think the paradigms: globalisation, world accounts, harmonisation, comparability, link between national and private accounting IAG – Side event 43rd Session UNSC

8. The reaction of the statistical systems • Going beyond the existing approaches and systems • Go towards • systematic collaboration between the different partners • integration of data sets • combination of data from different sources (public and private) • Statistics as integrated parts of comprehensive production systems for cluster of statistics • data warehouse approach • Change in the professional paradigm of statistical offices from "data-collectors" to "re-users of data". IAG – Side event 43rd Session UNSC

9. Setting up an international framework • G20 recommendations and PGIs • Methodological frameworks • International agreed manuals (SNA, BPM6, RPPI, …) • Guidelines for the practical implementation • Infrastructural framework • Data warehouse • Standards for exchange of data: SDMX • Industrialisation/standardisation of production systems • Statistical hubs • Committments • Legal framework (where appropriate) • Peer pressure • User pressure IAG – Side event 43rd Session UNSC

10. Example 1: Real estate prices – R19 • Residential Property Prices Indices • Starting conference to define the context • Handbook prepared by methodological experts • Initial experimental collection of data • Definition of practical rules and data templates (well advanced in Europe) • Setting up a legal framework (in Europe) • Associated information • Commercial Property Price Indicators • Same approach starting now (context conference in May) IAG – Side event 43rd Session UNSC

11. Example 2: Quarterly sectoral accounts - R15 • Users’ needs • Definition of the context (already 10 years ago) • Setting up the system • Strict cooperation between NSIs and Central Banks, Eurostat, ECB and BIS • Integrated approach • Communication • Methodology and practicalities • Legal framework (in Europe) • Leading product • Further developments in the future (e.g. timeliness, quality aspects) IAG – Side event 43rd Session UNSC

12. Example 3: Distributional information – R16 • Challenge: going beyond GDP • Major political and mediatic interest • Top down approach (from politicians) on an existing bottom-up basis (statisticians) • Define the framework: • Translating leading ideas in concrete ‘numbers’ • Re-define the paradigm (beyond GDP) • Use available statistics to produce new outcomes • Consolidating the framework IAG – Side event 43rd Session UNSC

13. Impact on the G20 process and outcome M E T H O D O L O G Y I N F R A S T R U C T U R E H A R M O N I S A T I O N PGIs Communication Web services Timeliness Harmonised data IAG – Side event 43rd Session UNSC

14. Thank you for your attention! IAG – Side event 43rd Session UNSC