Legal and institutional foundation of economic statistics

Overview of international experience

Regional Workshop for African Countries on Compilation of Basic Economic Statistics

Pretoria, South Africa

23-26 July 2007

Legal and institutional framework

• A national statistical system is defined by a country's legal framework, infrastructure and institutional arrangements for the collection, management and dissemination of official statistics – Responsibility of NSOs for collecting, processing, and

disseminating statistics– Adequate data sharing and coordination among data

producing agencies– Confidentiality of respondents’ data and their use for

statistical purposes only– Statistical reporting through legal mandate and/or

measures to encourage response

Legal Framework

• Law on Statistics– Sets out the authority and powers of a NSO and its role in the

overall system including its position in the national administration

– Defines the responsibility of NSO for carrying out statistical activity by registers and information systems its maintain, coordination among statistical parties etc.

• Any secondary legislation regarding statistical activities – ministerial decisions, regulations etc.

• Country practices in statistical legislation

http://unstats.un.org/unsd/methods/statorg/country_practices.asp

Fundamental principles of official statistics

• Basis for statistical laws of countries

• Define the role of official statistics and make it clear to governments and other users of statistics that a good system of official statistics must meet certain general criteria

• Assist heads of NSOs to defend the position of their institutes

http://unstats.un.org/unsd/dnss/fundprinciples.aspx

Institutional arrangements

• Organization of statistical activity– Centralized statistical systems - production of official

statistics is centralized in the NSO– Decentralized statistical systems - a number of

institutions involved in data collection and dissemination (NSO, key ministries, the central bank and other government institutions

• Data sharing and coordination– A better approach to organisation and management of

the national statistical system for the NSO is to play a coordinating, regulatory and supervisory role in addition to collecting and disseminating those official statistics that no other institution has the capacity to collect and compile

Data sharing and coordination

• NSOs incentives to encourage coordination among agencies – Sharing of information– Participation in joint statistical activities– Access to statistical expertise– Influence on the setting of priorities

• Tools for achieving coordination– Establishing national programmes for statistical

surveys– Signing agreements with other data producing

agencies

National Statistical Programmes

• Include a multiyear plan for statistical surveys • Contain detailed characteristics of the surveys

– theme of the survey– contents and object of the survey– method of conducting the survey– sources and form of data collection– body/ bodies conducting the survey– obligation for data provision– budget for the survey

• Annual operating plans developed in conformity with the national statistical programmes– Define the allocation of tasks between different departments and

divisions, including aspects of data exchange

Provision of data for statistical surveys

• Protection of Confidentiality

• Legal mandate to encourage response

– Response burden

Thank you