Real Sector Division
IMF Statistics Department
The IMF’s Data Standards Initiatives
10th Meeting of the Advisory Expert Group on National Accounts
April 13-15, 2016
Paris, France
Claudia Dziobek
IMF
Reproductions of this material, or any parts of it, should refer to the IMF Statistics Department as the source.
Real Sector Division
IMF Statistics Department
IMF’s Data Standards Initiatives
 Special Data Dissemination Standard (SDDS): For countries
accessing capital markets ; established in 1996.
 Special Data Dissemination Standard Plus (SDDS Plus): SDDS
subscribers with systemically important financial systems;
established in 2012.
 Enhanced General Data Dissemination System (e-GDDS): to
assist e-GDDS participants to graduate to the SDDS;
established in 2015.
Real Sector Division
IMF Statistics Department
I: Special Data Dissemination
Standard Plus (SDDS Plus)
Established in 2012 in the context of the Eighth
Review of the Fund’s Data Standards Initiatives,
as the third and highest tier of the Data
Standards Initiatives
Launch took place in November 2014
Real Sector Division
IMF Statistics Department
Special Data Dissemination Standard
(SDDS) Plus
Why the SDDS Plus?
 Highest tier of the IMF’s data standards
initiatives
 Adherents disseminate data necessary to
assess and analyze systemic risks to domestic
economies
 Contribute to global financial stability and
strengthen bilateral and multilateral
surveillance
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Real Sector Division
IMF Statistics Department
Modalities of the SDDS Plus
 Voluntary and open to all SDDS subscribers in full observance of
SDDS requirements
 Includes all SDDS prescribed data categories, plus nine additional
data categories
 Rigorous dissemination requirements including for coverage,
timeliness, and time series data
 No flexibility option (unlike SDDS) but a transition period until end2019 to meet all nine additional data categories
 Requires adherents to prepare metadata, ARC, and a
“modernized” NSDP (more on this below)
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Real Sector Division
IMF Statistics Department
SDDS Plus: Nine additional data
categories
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Real Sector Division
IMF Statistics Department
SDDS and SDDS Plus:
Comparison of Coverage, Periodicity, and Timeliness
SDDS
Data categories
National accounts
Production Index
Sectoral balance sheets
Labor market
Consumer price index
Producer price index
General government operations
General government gross debt
Central government operations
Central government debt
Depository corporations survey
Central bank survey
Other financial corporations survey
Financial soundness indicators
Debt securities
Interest rates
Stock market
Balance of payments
External debt
Coordinated portfolio investment survey
Coordinated direct investment survey
Official reserve assets
Template on International Reserves and Foreign Currency
Liquidity
Currency composition of official foreign exchange reserves
Merchandise trade
International investment position
Exchange rates
SDDS Plus
Required
Periodicity
Timeliness
Required
Periodicity
Timeliness
Yes
Yes
Q
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Yes
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Q
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A
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Yes
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Yes
Yes
Yes
Q
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A
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12 M
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…
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Real Sector Division
IMF Statistics Department
SDDS Plus: Implementation Status
 The first cluster of countries met the requirements in February 2015.
France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, and
the United States. Japan and Czech Republic expected by end-April
2016.
 The priority for the period ahead will be to promote adherence by
economies with systemically important financial systems that play a
leading role in international capital markets.
 Experience with the first cluster of countries indicates that—once the
country is producing the required data—adherence takes about 3–
4 months of close collaboration between staff and the authorities.
This will involve primarily transitioning all data categories to the
revamped NSDP using the Statistical Data and Metadata Exchange
(SDMX).
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Real Sector Division
IMF Statistics Department
II: Enhanced General Data
Dissemination System ( e-GDDS)
Real Sector Division
IMF Statistics Department
Context
 On May 1, 2015, the Executive Board discussed
the Ninth Review of the IMF’s Data Standards
Initiatives.
•
•
Directors supported staff’s proposals for enhancing
the General Data Dissemination System (GDDS).
As a result, the successor Enhanced General Data
Dissemination System (e-GDDS) was established.
 Effective May 1, 2015, the e-GDDS thus
superseded the GDDS.
•
The 112 GDDS participants were moved into the eGDDS framework’s “baseline” by default.
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Real Sector Division
IMF Statistics Department
Why reform the GDDS?
 Progress to improve and disseminate macro




economic and socio- demographic data had
stagnated.
Insufficient links to the surveillance work of the
Fund.
Little incentive for countries with data deficiencies
to make progress in the production and
dissemination of data.
No platform for standardized data dissemination.
Inadequate links to technical assistance.
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Real Sector Division
IMF Statistics Department
How does the e-GDDS address these
challenges?
 Designed to steer participants to improve data dissemination
practices and advance steadily towards higher data
dissemination stages.
 Focuses on surveillance: 15 data categories aligned with the
TCIRS.
 Incentives for improving data dissemination.
 Standard data dissemination platform.
 Allows specification of priorities for capacity development (TA
and training) to fill identified data gaps relevant for surveillance.
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Real Sector Division
IMF Statistics Department
Main features of the e-GDDS (cont’d)
 Emphasis on dissemination of data:
• Standard data dissemination using an NSDP requiring either a cloud-
•
based Open Data Platform or SDMX to help assess countries’ progress;
Disciplined publication of data required for surveillance including through
observance of an advance release calendar (ARC).
IMF
IFIs
Data mapping to
National Data Portal/NSDP
using the ODP or SDMX
Country data
Public; across
government
agencies;
policy makers
Data available to the IMF (DSBB) and
a wide array of users/partners
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Real Sector Division
IMF Statistics Department
Main features of the e-GDDS (cont’d)
 Participants expected to implement the e-GDDS framework and
progress through three stages/thresholds towards graduation to the
SDDS, where appropriate:
•
•
•
Threshold one. Disseminate the 15 encouraged data categories according to
coverage, periodicity, and timeliness set in countries’ metadata, at least some
of which falls short of the e-GDDS recommendations; the NSDP updated at
least quarterly;
Threshold two. Disseminate the 15 encouraged data categories according to
coverage, periodicity, and timeliness recommended under the e-GDDS, with
monthly updating of the NSDP, or more often if warranted; and
Threshold three. Disseminate the 15 encouraged data categories according to
coverage, periodicity, and timeliness equal or better than recommended
under the e-GDDS, while maintaining an up-to-date NSDP and ARC.
 Implementation period will go through 2020.
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Real Sector Division
IMF Statistics Department
e-GDDS Thresholds for Promoting Readiness to the SDDS
GDDS
Disseminate
metadata and
plans for
improvement.
Threshold 1
Threshold 2
Threshold 3
SDDS
(IMF quarterly
monitoring)
(IMF quarterly
monitoring)
(IMF quarterly
monitoring)
(IMF monthly monitoring)
Disseminate
metadata and plans for
improvement.
Disseminate metadata.
Disseminate TCIRS data plus
production index, labor
statistics, producer price index,
and the reserves template,
according to coverage,
periodicity, and timeliness
required under the SDDS,
which are generally more
demanding than under the EGDDS.
Disseminate
metadata and plans
for improvement.
Disseminate TCIRS
data according to
coverage, periodicity,
and timeliness set in
metadata, at least
some of which falls
short of E-GDDS
framework.
Maintain a National
Summary Data Page
(NSDP) with quarterly
updating, or more
often if warranted.
Disseminate
metadata and
plans for
improvement.
Disseminate
TCIRS data
according to
coverage,
periodicity, and
timeliness
recommended
under the E-GDDS
framework.
Maintain a
National Summary
Data Page with
monthly updating,
or more often if
warranted.
Disseminate TCIRS
data according to
coverage, periodicity,
and timeliness equal or
better than
recommended by the
E-GDDS.
Maintain an up-todate National
Summary Data Page.
Observe an advance
release calendar
covering all TCIRS data.
Maintain a National
Summary Data Page, with
updating consistent with
commitments.
Observe an advance release
calendar covering all required
data.
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Real Sector Division
IMF Statistics Department
Incentives for improvement in data
publication and dissemination
 STA to assess countries’ implementation of e-GDDS framework
[Country]: Current Dissemination Practices Under the Enhanced GDDS
Data Category
Real Sector
National Accounts (GDP)
Consumer price index
Fiscal Sector
General govt. operations
Central govt. operations
Central govt. gross debt
Financial Sector
Depository corp. survey
Central bank survey
Interest rates
Stock market (if applicable)
External Sector
Balance of payments
External debt
Official reserve assets
Merchandise trade
Int’l. investment position
Exchange rates
Coverage (meets
requirements)
Periodicity
GDDS
[Country]
Timeliness
GDDS
[Country]
Advance Release
Calendar
STA Preliminary Assessment Matrix (excludes ODP/NSDP/ARC)
Baseline 1:
Countries that disseminate less than 10 of the 15 data categories.
Baseline 2:
Countries that disseminate between 10–14 of the 15 data categories.
Threshold 1:
Countries that disseminate all the 15 data categories but fall short of at
least one e-GDDS recommendations for timeliness and periodicity.
Threshold 2:
Countries that disseminate all the 15 data categories and meet all e-GDDS
recommendations for timeliness and periodicity.
Threshold 3:
Countries that disseminate all the 15 data categories, meet all the e-GDDS
recommendations for timeliness and periodicity, and exceed timeliness or
periodicity for at least one data category.
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Real Sector Division
IMF Statistics Department
What are the benefits?
 Improved data transparency and governance should generate


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

incentives for data quality improvement.
With discipline in publication through observance of ARC, there will
be less uncertainty for markets, investors, and the public at large
(domestic and international).
Regular monitoring should stimulate peer competition and interest
by stakeholders and markets.
Disciplined data publication to help develop domestic financial
markets.
Better assessment of TA needs, and enhanced donor cooperation.
Authorities to be able to use new platform for disseminating other
key data—including social demographic data, SDGs, etc.
Use of ODP and SDMX to reduce data reporting burden.
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Real Sector Division
IMF Statistics Department
What is expected of countries?
 Respond favorably to the letter sent by Managing Director



Lagarde of May 21, 2015 seeking commitment;
Appoint an e-GDDS national coordinator to work with Fund
staff on implementing the e-GDDS initiative;
Agree that the e-GDDS will be a multi-year project and that
e-GDDS missions to countries that commit to implement
the new framework would need to be phased-in over time;
As the primary purpose of the e-GDDS is publication of
data, commit to publish the data in the NSDP after a
mutually agreed period following and agreed discipline as
regards periodicity and timeliness. This commitment will be
a critical factor for fielding e-GDDS missions to your
country.
Real Sector Division
IMF Statistics Department
Botswana and Nigeria have
Implemented the e-GDDS
 Botswana: NSDP 
http://cb.botswana.opendataforafrica.org/nanhvtg/natio
nal-summary-data-page-nsdp
Press Release http://www.imf.org/external/np/sec/pr/2015/pr15499.h
tm
 Nigeria: NSDP 
http://nso.nigeria.opendataforafrica.org/xvokkfg/nationa
l-summary-data-page-nsdp
Press Release http://www.imf.org/external/np/sec/pr/2016/pr1675.ht
m