Statistical Reviews for
OECD Accession
Working Party on Trade in Goods and Services
16 November, 2009
July 2009
Overview
1. Rationale for OECD enlargement
2. Role for statistics in accession reviews
3. A glimpse at the A5 countries
4. Accession: Statistical reviews and integration
5. Review Process: Trade in Goods and Services
6. Benefits to accession countries and to the OECD
OECD Enlargement
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2007: OECD embarked on an ambitious
program of enlargement
Formal accession applications by: Chile,
Estonia, Israel, Russian Federation, Slovenia
Formal “Roadmaps” for accession process
Enhanced Engagement with: Brazil, China,
India, Indonesia, South Africa
Reflects the OECD Mandate as a hub for
discussion of global issues
Why include “statistics” in the
enlargement process?
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In a globalised world, international comparisons are
more important than ever.
OECD is one of the world’s foremost and respected
sources of internationally-comparable statistics
Understanding definitions and methods is essential
if country data are to be compared and analysed
The Statistical Accession Process
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No Legal Instruments pertaining to Statistics…but
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Roadmaps included Statistics &Statistical Systems
 Statistics are fundamental
 Statistics underpin all the critical Policy Areas
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Basic obligation of OECD membership:
 “furnish the organisation with the information
necessary for the accomplishment of its tasks”.
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STD developed a structured evaluation process
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Leading to a Formal Review by CSTAT
Share in world GDP
%
100
90
80
70
60
50
2000
2007
40
30
20
10
0
OECD
Source: IMF World Economic Outlook
Database: April 2009
Accession countries
Enhanced engagement countries
Total OECD, Accession and
Enhanced engagement countries
Luxembourg
Norway
United States
Switzerland
Ireland
Netherlands
Canada
Australia
Austria
Sweden
Iceland
Denmark
United Kingdom
Germany
Finland
Belgium
Japan
OECD - Total
France
Spain
Italy
Greece
Korea
Israel
Slovenia
New Zealand
Czech Republic
Portugal
90000
Slovak Republic
Estonia
Hungary
Poland
Russian Federation
Chile
Mexico
Turkey
GDP per capita
Charts
US dollars,depicting
Current prices, PPPs,the
2008 A4
80000
70000
60000
50000
40000
30000
20000
10000
0
Russian Federation
Slovak Republic
Estonia
Turkey
Poland
Slovenia
Czech Republic
Korea
Chile
Ireland
Iceland
Luxembourg
Greece
Israel
Hungary
Australia
Spain
Finland
New Zealand
Mexico
Sweden
Canada
Norway
Austria
United Kingdom
United States
OECD - Total
Switzerland
Belgium
Netherlands
France
Japan
Denmark
Germany
Portugal
Italy
GDP growth 2001 to 2008
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
United States
Japan
Australia
Turkey
Russian Federation
France
OECD total
United Kingdom
Greece
New Zealand
Mexico
Italy
Spain
Canada
Portugal
Norway
Chile
Iceland
Poland
Finland
Germany
Israel
Korea
Sweden
Denmark
Switzerland
Austria
Netherlands
Slovenia
Ireland
Czech Republic
Hungary
Estonia
Slovak Republic
Belgium
Luxembourg
Trade in goods and services as percentage of GDP
2007
180
160
140
120
100
80
60
40
20
0
Accession Schedule
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Committee reviews of four countries in 2009
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OECD Council decisions in early 2010
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All Committee reviews of Russia were delayed
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Work to continue through 2010 into 2011
Process for Statistical Assessments
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Review of Legal and Institutional Framework
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Review of Data Quality, Comparability, Integration
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Peer Reviews and Assessments
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Input from other Directorates
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CSTAT Reviewed the A4 countries on October 26
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Formal Opinions to Council by December 2009
Legal and Institutional Framework
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Laws, regulations, policies and best practices to
ensure sound, professional unbiased statistics
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Comparability of accession to OECD countries
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UN’s Fundamental Principles provided template
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Built on appraisals of other international organisations
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Focused discussions during Peer Reviews
Data Quality and Comparability
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Fundamental criteria: “coverage” and “compliance”.
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The variables, time periods and geographic regions
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required by the OECD; and
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typically available from existing members
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Reviews by responsible staff in Secretariat
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In principle, covers all OECD statistics
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Structured reviews of all economic statistics where
Statistics Directorate has full or shared responsibilities
Statistics Directorate Responsibilities
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National Accounts
Business Register
Business Statistics
Financial Statistics
International Trade in Goods and Services
Balance of Payments
Prices and Purchasing Power Parities
Labour and Labour Compensation
Indexes of Production and Demand
Short-term Financial Statistics
Business Tendency & Consumer Opinion Surveys
Trade in Goods and Services
Review Process
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Two objectives:
Assess quality and comparability
Collect and integrate data
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Countries provided information on sources/methods
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Also filled standard data reporting forms
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Head of TAGS conducted fact-finding missions
Trade in Goods and Services
Review Process
Four aspects examined:
Compliance
 Coverage
Timeliness
Data and Metadata Transmission
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Three data programmes covered:
Monthly Statistics of International Trade
International Trade by Commodity Statistics
 International Trade in Services Statistics
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Peer Review by OECD Country Experts
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Several days of interviews by subject
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Identify any outstanding deficiencies
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Is country committed to resolve deficiencies?
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Are there realistic, funded plans in place?
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The Peers approved reports for CSTAT
Peer Review Teams
Chile
Estonia
Israel
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Carl Obst, Australian Bureau of Statistics
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Jeff Cope, Statistics New Zealand
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Bente Dyrberg, Statistics Denmark
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Wlodzimierz Okrasa, Statistics Poland
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Arunas Butkevicius, Eurostat
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Slovenia
John Greenlees & Bob Eddy, Bureau of
Labor Statistics, USA
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Paloma Seoane, INE, Spain
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Symon Algera, Statistics Netherlands
CSTAT Review
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Special closed sessions to reach agreement
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“Formal Opinions” are Secret…yet to be approved
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Views on statistical programs were positive
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Numerous compliance and coverage gaps remain
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Enhanced metadata often requested
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Work programs are in place
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Some formal Progress Reports will be required
Benefits to Countries
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Considerable work by accession countries to
document, understand and assess statistics
Congratulations and thanks
Benefits to accession countries?
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International comparability; Share best practices
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Support and guidance to improve programmes
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Enhanced co-ordination within country
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Access to additional resources
Benefits to the OECD
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First time for such a comprehensive review
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Improved internal relations and coordination
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Improved clarity and organisation of OECD
statistical requirements
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Rationalisation of special OECD requirements
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‘Jump start’ for effective new partner relationships
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And….. we have a better understanding of A4
data and metadata than we do for most OECD!
CSTAT proposal on similar reviews for Members