Country Presentation
SAINT LUCIA
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Current status
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Scope and coverage
Output estimation
Intermediate Consumption estimation
Volume measurement
Challenges
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Legislation
Management of Public Data Systems
Data collection practices
Dynamic Economic Structure
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Responses (‘No more Mr. Nice Guy’)
◦ Legislative authority
◦ National Statistical Policy
◦ Review and improvement of NA methodology
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Scope and Coverage
◦ 4 annual GDP tables, 1 SUT, 1 controversial TSA
(underestimated GDP or overestimated visitor
expenditure.. hmm??), 1 Informal Sector Survey,
Quarterly LFS, Monthly CPI, Annual BOP (no IIP)
◦ Gross Value Added in basic prices, GDP at market prices,
upgraded from factor cost GDP during rebasing exercise,
production account?
◦ formal, registered establishments, some degree of
informal activity captured through administrative
sources like the NIC and Customs
◦ ISIC4, HS2008, CPC2, BPM5
◦ New initiatives: QGDP (thank you Maureen!), new SUT,
new base year, annual GDP chaining (..hmm?)
• Output estimation
 Mixture of sources and methods
 Sources: company reports, survey and administrative
data; irregular and inconsistent intervals (monthly,
quarterly, annual); severely restricted coverage of
service industries;
 commodity flow, benchmarking; heavy dependence on
output benchmark data from 2002 SUT Table
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Intermediate Consumption estimation
◦ imported inputs/merchandise
◦ limited data on current domestic costs of
intermediate goods and services; limited use and
access to current survey data
◦ constant input-output ratios from 2002 benchmark
data
• Volume measurement
 direct double deflation? Laspeyres indices (lack of a current
weighting structure to facilitate Paashe index)
 unit value indices (built primarily from import unit values) as
opposed to genuine domestic producer price indices
 Volume extrapolation (extrapolation of base year output,
constant input-output ratios)
◦ Expenditure GDP
 Gross Capital Formation: imports of capital equipment (BEC;
CIF value, trade/transport margins not established to derive
purchasers’ prices); government capital estimates, 95% of
construction output (developed using commodity flow
approach, starting with ‘construction imports); change in
stock of inventories, not separately identified
Legislation
◦ individual, incoherent, legislative acts inhibiting access to critical
data; VAT Act, NIC legislation, confidentiality clauses, etc.
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Management of Public Data Systems
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Data collection practices
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Dynamic Economic Structure
◦ out-dated, stand-alone, non-standardized public data
management systems; varying degrees of modernization, lack of
common standards and data quality controls
◦ reduced response rates
◦ outdated data collection instruments and methods (timeconsuming, inefficient enumerator-administered interviews)
◦ Unstable Economic Conditions, widespread discounting,
introduction of VAT (impact on production costs, producer and
consumer prices, consistent and regular upgrade of current inputoutput ratios; annual GDP chaining.. Hmm??)
• Legislative authority
 MOUs, Cabinet Conclusions, integration with investment/tax incentives
 Strengthening Statistical Act
• National Statistical Policy
 establishment and management of the national statistical system
 data collection protocols, policies for data-sharing, data protection
 interaction of national database systems, networking, central repository
 legislative support, decentralized responsibility, outlining a mandate for
ownership and responsibility, e.g. revision of VAT Act to go beyond the
collection of taxes and actively facilitate the production of economic
statistics (output, IC, capital expenditure on a monthly basis)
 Statistical audit, stakeholder consultations already accomplished
(involved data users and providers from civil society and the private and
public sectors)
• Review and improvement of NA methodology
 Improved updating of business register
 Sampling procedures (protocols pertaining to the
coverage of ‘small establishments’, which may or not
contribute significantly to value added, either
collectively or individually
 More efficient data collection and compilation
processes: revise questionnaires, use of improved
technologies (‘hand-held’s, etc); modification of E/D
forms, ERETES??.. Hmm??
 Consolidating NA data collection effort with the LFS
and other regular household surveys to identify and
measure new and emerging service activities; more
regular informal sector output estimates