Balancing the Need of Future
Revisions with resources of the the
National Statistical Offices
By Robert P. Parker, Consultant on Federal Statistics
Discussant: Kirsten Wismer, Statistics Denmark
Background
 After 2008 SNA



International Comparability?
Use of less than reliable source data?
Quality of the quarterly National Accounts
 Funding



Never good
General tendency to reduce government spending
Process for SNA 95 and 2008 SNA did not include cost and available
data
 Use of cost-benefit analysis to select new changes
 Purpose

To remain National Account data relevant and more consistent
between countries
2
Implementation of 2008 SNA
 Major priority for UNSC


Timely and comprehensive implementation
Goal is the complete SNA in all countries
 Efforts to follow up in the implementation


UN Guidelines to monitor – results?
UN-Friend of the chair concerning the 1993 SNA (2012)
-

Limited political support and unavailability of basic economic statistics
ISWGNA March 2015
-
NA-data in almost all member states but only 55% with a time lag of T-1
Only 45% provide minimum data
1993 SNA or 2008 SNA implemented with conceptual compl. in 85%
A number of member states only partly introduced 2008 SNA
 Missing implementation information on important changes

R&D is implemented widespread, but is very difficult to implement
-

Split between volume and prices, reliable source data and timeliness
Goods sent abroad for processing
-
Need for new data - how does the countries implement this?
3
Funding of statistical programs
 Never good but it seems worsening


Examples from USA, UK, Canada and Australia
Official statistics and big data?
 Cost of implementation needs to be
given more consideration in the future
revisions of the SNA
 In USA new data collections must be
approved by the Office of Management
and Budget


Require a formal cost-benefit or regulatory impact
analysis
To determine whether benefits justify the costs
4
A cost-benefit analysis for SNA
changes?
 Partly included in the Research Agenda of the 2008
SNA

How urgent and important to ensure that the SNA continues to
stay relevant?
-

How widespread are the consequences of change and how
complicated will implementation be?
-

costs of developing new estimates
Is the topic completely new or has much of the preparation for
considering the item been completed?
-

benefit for users
benefit of having existing estimates such as those prepared for a satellite
account
Widespread consultation and involvement of both compilers and
users
-
people with experience with the change provide advice on costs and benefits
 But do not deal with issue of what constitutes
implementation of a change

Are new data sources needed for the change
-

Annual
Quarterly
Necessary requirement for calculate the cost of a change
5
Recommendations

Expand reporting of the implementation of 2008
SNA on major changes
-

Identify changes from 2008 SNA or previous for
example illegal production
-

Have the implementation improved relevance?
Have the implementation improves international
comparability?
Identify changes for rescission or move to a satellite account
Next SNA revisions
-

Timeliness and reliability of the source data
Estimation methods of benchmarks, annual and quarterly
estimates – both current prices and volume
Expand reporting as under first bullit
Be more concrete in defining implementation - specify major
changes and use key aggregates
Further SNA revisions
-
Conduct cost benefit analysis for each proposed changes
Used them to make the priority of wishes
6
Comments

International comparability?
-
EU: implementation by law, Eurostat follows up
UN: do we lack a forum for those who have hands on
regarding? Should it be an ongoing activity – and not only for
the next SNA?

Shall we develop a quality assessment system – and not
only concentrate on the new changes - to help our users to
understand the National Accounts data?

More extensive use of satellite accounts –and consider
elimination of parts that have not been well implemented.
-

I support your idea of taking new sources into account
-

How shall we explain that a more simple system will be a better
tool in a more complicated world?
Will the core National Accounts stay relevant?
How shall we involve statisticians from other statistical subjects
to discuss new changes in the NA?
How can we secure that the speed on introducing new concepts
will not be decided by the slowest country?
How compare cost and benefits world wide?
7