New IMF standards for dissemination of data

Transcription

1 New IMF standards for dissemination of data By Helen Brown This article looks at the measures the IMF has taken, following the Mexican crisis, to improve the statistical practices of countries in providing key economic and financial data and the practical steps followed by the United Kingdom in signing up to the Standard. A key element in this development is the use of the Internet as the prime vehicle for dissemination. Background Following the Mexican external financing crisis in 1994/95 1, the IMF with support from the UK and other member countries put in place plans to improve the Fund s procedures and surveillance activities. The Spring 1995 Interim Committee agreed to introduce a range of new measures designed to prevent future debt crises, including statistical standards to guide members in the provision of economic and financial data to the public so as to give greater transparency to countries economic policies. In developing the new data standards, the Fund, in consultation with members and financial market participants, decided upon a two tier approach. This comprises a general standard, the General Data Dissemination System (GDDS), towards which the Fund will work with all members, and a Special Data Dissemination Standard (SDDS) for those members which use, or aspire to use, the international capital markets. Detailed work done by the Statistics Division of the IMF in setting up the Special Data Dissemination Standard followed an initial round of consultations with member states of the IMF. The IMF s Statistics Division has played a continuing role in maintaining the Bulletin Board (see below) and encouraging member states to develop their systems to meet the Standard. Observance of the Standard is intended to be monitored by the markets themselves; if a subscribing country allows its practices to lapse, or fails to complete necessary changes by the end of the transition period (end December 1998), it may suffer the ignominy of having its metadata (see Box on The Internet : Metadata) removed from the Bulletin Board. Special Data Dissemination Standard Subscription to the SDDS was opened in early April Although subscription is voluntary, it carries a commitment by a subscribing member to observe the Standard and to provide certain information to the IMF and the public at large about its practices in disseminating economic and financial data. The UK was the first country to sign up to SDDS, and to date there have been 43 subscriptions. Comprehensive information about data dissemination practices (ie metadata) is currently shown on the Dissemination Standards Bulletin Board (DSBB) for 36 countries. The Bulletin Board can be found at Table 1 below lists the subscribing countries with metadata on the IMF Bulletin Board. A transition period, until the end of 1998, for the implementation of the SDDS is available. During this period, a member may subscribe to the SDDS even if its dissemination practices are not fully in line with SDDS at that time. This gives the subscriber time to adjust its practices to meet SDDS requirements. 1 See Jon Shields article The evolving role of the IMF in the light of the 1994/95 Mexican crisis in the Bank of England Quarterly Bulletin of August

2 Table 1 Subscribing countries with metadata pages on the Bulletin Board Argentina Austria Belgium Canada Chile Colombia Croatia Denmark Finland France Germany Hong Kong, China Hungary India Indonesia Ireland Israel Italy Japan Lithuania Malaysia Mexico Netherlands Norway Peru Philippines Poland Singapore Slovenia South Africa Sweden Switzerland Thailand Turkey United Kingdom United States Electronic links (hyperlinks) to national summary data sites are available for those countries in italics: the IMF only permits such links to be established when it is satisfied that individual countries practices either meet the Standard or their metadata shows a firm commitment to do so by the end of the transition period. Metadata for Latvia will soon be posted, and Colombia and Finland are in the process of setting up hyperlinks. Data required under the Special Data Dissemination Standard are divided into two categories, Prescribed and Encouraged. As the title suggests, subscribers are obliged to provide only the prescribed data with the provision of encouraged data being optional. For example the Standard specifies that data on international reserves should be published. Meeting the Standard The SDDS encompasses four dimensions: The data; coverage, periodicity, and timeliness. The SDDS focuses on 17 categories of data that are seen as the most important in shedding light on economic performance and policy in real, fiscal, financial, and external sectors, (see Chart 1 below on Data Coverage). The Standard specifies the frequency and timeliness of dissemination for each data category. The criteria required for each category are detailed on the Bulletin Board. Access by the public. Ready and equal access is a principal requirement for all the public, including market participants. Advance dissemination of release calendars and simultaneous release to all interested parties are both requirements. Integrity of the disseminated data. To assist users in assessing integrity of the disseminated data, the SDDS prescribes practices that emphasise the transparency of statistical compilation and dissemination. The provision of information about revisions and advance notice of major changes in compilation methodology, along with the identification of internal government access to data before release and of ministerial commentary on the occasion of statistical releases, must also be declared. Quality of the disseminated data. To help assess the quality of the data the Standard specifies dissemination of documentation on methodology used in preparing statistics and to support statistical cross-checks and provide assurances of reasonableness, dissemination of component detail, reconciliations with related data, and statistical frameworks. 2

3 Chart 1 Data Coverage Data Categ ories Real Sector Fiscal Sector Financial Sector External Sector Population Labour Market Public Sector Operations Stock Market: share price indices* International Investment Position Wag e/earnings Central Govt Operations Interest Rates* Exchange Rates* Employment Unemployment National Accounts Central Govt Debt * A nalytical Accounts Banking Sector* A nalytical Accounts Central bank* Merchandise Trade International Reserves* Forward Looking Indicators (1) Balance of Payments Price Indices Producer Indices Consumer Indices Production Indices (1) Data for forward looking indicators are encouraged under SDDS. * Indicates data categories for which the Bank of England are responsible Role of the Bulletin Board In September 1996 the IMF opened to public access, through the Internet, an electronic Bulletin Board for the SDDS. The Dissemination Standards Bulletin Board (DSBB) posts information on the data dissemination practices of subscribers as well as steps they have taken to move towards full observance of the Standard by the end of It also provides up-to-date information on future release dates of data and identifies contacts in the subscribing country and information on how to obtain data (see Box below). The DSBB is maintained by the IMF, although it is the responsibility of the subscribing country to ensure metadata are up-to-date. The DSBB will not provide actual data, although subscribing countries are being encouraged to establish hyperlinks from the IMF s metadata pages to actual data (national summary page). In April 1997, hyperlinks were established that allow data users to move directly from the DSBB to subscribers Internet data sites to access the latest economic and financial data. Currently 12 countries, including the UK, have hyperlinks in place. The UK Summary Page can be found at 3

4 BOX The Internet : Metadata Metadata published on the Bulletin Board provides the following information on each data category for each country Contact person Dissemination Formats The Data 1. Coverage characteristics 2. Periodicity 3. Timeliness Access by Public 1. Advance dissemination of release calendar 2. Simultaneous release to all interest parties Integrity 1. Dissemination of terms and conditions under which official statistics are produced 2. Identification of internal government access to data before release 3. Provision of information about revision and advance notice of major changes in methodology. Quality 1. Dissemination of documentation on methodology and sources used in preparing statistics 2. Dissemination of statistical cross-checks Link to Summary page on observance and transition plan The UK perspective The UK supports the SDDS because of the importance which international statistical standards have in establishing greater transparency to countries economic policies. The Bank has been working closely with the Office for National Statistics (ONS), the UK national coordinators. In the case of the UK, the majority of data required by the SDDS were already publicly available and met both the frequency and timeliness criteria. When signing up to the SDDS, the UK fell short of the Standard in only three areas; Central Government Gross Debt, Central Government Operations and the Analytical Accounts of the Central Bank. Central Government Gross Debt Work on meeting the Standard for Central Government Gross Debt has now been completed; data including the required maturity analysis are published in Table 17 (Central Government gross debt) of Monetary and Financial Statistics. Central Government Operations The IMF gives each country the scope to take a limited number of flexibility options on timeliness and periodicity of prescribed data categories. The UK will be taking a flexibility option on periodicity and timeliness of Central Government Operations rather than making changes to permit compilation of the prescribed breakdown of financing. The Standard specifies that data on financing of the Central Government should be disseminated monthly; the UK will however be publishing data on a quarterly basis. This is the only category for which the UK is currently taking a flexibility option. Analytical Accounts of the Central Bank. Work is currently in hand for the introduction of the Central Bank sector when the latest version of the European System of National Accounts (ESA95) is adopted. When this project is completed, the UK should meet the full observance by the end of the transition period. We also expect subscription to SDDS will improve public confidence in official statistics. General Data Dissemination System In March 1997, the IMF Executive Board agreed to establish a General Data Dissemination System. Unlike the SDDS, which is aimed at member countries with or seeking access to capital markets, the GDDS will focus on the improvement of data quality and systems for the production and dissemination of statistics for participating IMF members. The GDDS framework will consist of a good-practices standard for data production and dissemination and as a useful guide for developing national statistical systems. Data users will be able to assess statistical best practice of participating countries. The IMF hopes to establish the GDDS by the end of this year or early

5 Where to get more information Data Dissemination Standards Division International Monetary Fund th Street, NW Washington, DC 20431, USA Tel : ( ) ddsd.imf.org Bulletin Board : dsbb.imf.org United Kingdom national summary page Internet: 5