Regional programme for the
improvement of economic
statistics in Asia and the Pacific
International Workshop on Measuring GDP by Final Demand
Approach, Shenzhen, China, 25-27 April 2011
Presented by:
Jillian Campbell, Statistician, United Nations Economic and
Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP)
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Focus of the Programme
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Introduction to the programme
• The overall goal of the Programme is to improve the
soundness of economic analysis and decision-making by
governments, the private sector, the research community
and the public through increased availability and effective
use of timely, reliable and comparable economic statistics.
• The expected outcome of the Programme is that, by 2020,
the national statistical systems of ESCAP member States
should have the capacity to produce and disseminate a
Core Set of Economic Statistics required
• The Core Set of Economic Statistics includes the
compilation of annual and quarterly national accounts
– The compilation of GDP by expenditure at a quarterly frequency is
recommended in the core set framework
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Current Status of the Regional Programme
• An ESCAP wide assessment of the ability of
countries to produce basic economic statistics
was conducted in 2009-2010
• In depth in-country assessments of Bangladesh,
Bhutan and Lao People’s Democratic Republic
were conducted in 2011
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System of National Accounts findings
• Only a third of ESCAP members in the region
produced all seven of the tables that constitute
the minimum requirement dataset established by
the ISWGNA
• Forty-four members (79%) of the ESCAP
members publish GDP by expenditure on an
annual basis
• Less than half of members (23 members) publish
quarterly GDP by expenditure estimates
• A third of members have not fully implemented
the 1993 SNA.
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National Accounts Human Resources
• Seventy-two per cent of respondents described
their staff resources as not adequate.
– 1 out of 6 (17 per cent) of high-income members
described NA staff resources as not adequate
– 22 out of 28 (79 per cent) of middle income members
described NA staff resources as not adequate
– 10 out of 12 (83 per cent) of low-income members
described NA staff resources as not adequate.
• Staff working in NA ranged: 1 part-time staff in
Cook Islands and 1 staff in Timor-Leste to 7 in
Armenia, 16 in Afghanistan to 53 in India to 120 in
Indonesia and 121 in Bangladesh
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Some obstacles identified through incountry assessments
• IT: Internet access, software, hardware and ICT
support
• Coordination/communication with data providers,
local offices, other government agencies
– This includes duplication of work, a system for data
sharing and resolution of discrepancies
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Metadata and documentation
Statistical training
Quality assessment
Source data
Business registers
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Next steps
1. Endorsement of the Core Set as regional guideline: To
secure government commitment to the Core Set so it will
have the necessary political and financial support
2. Strengthening of statistical advocacy: To increase
understanding of the importance of investing in the
improvement of national capacity to produce the Core Set
3. Development of human resource skills: To improve the
skills of NSSs staff in areas that are essential for producing
economic statistics
4. Improvement of statistical infrastructure: To improve the
capacity of NSSs to develop, implement and maintain
national statistical infrastructures, including quality
assessment frameworks, metadata repositories, business
registers and statistical data editing techniques
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Next steps continued
5. Improvement in coordination: To increase the
consistency and coherence of national statistical capacity
building programmes and maximize the effectiveness of
the available resources, through improved coordination of
statistical development activities, both within NSSs and
among development partners.
6. Progress monitoring and programme review
7. Knowledge sharing and South-South cooperation: To
promote the effective sharing of knowledge, experience
and technical know how and to facilitate South-South
Cooperation for improving national capacity to produce
the Core Set among NSSs in the ESCAP region.
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Questions?
Thank you
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