Industry, Retail and Construction Indicators, Volume 2002 Supplement 1 [electronic resource]

81 Pages·2002·2.6 MB·English

by  Publishing, OECD

STATISTICS
Main
Economic
Indicators
COMPARATIVE METHODOLOGICAL
ANALYSIS: INDUSTRY, RETAILAND
CONSTRUCTION INDICATORS
OECD
((
Volume2002,Supplement1
STATISTICS
Main
Economic
COMPARATIVE METHODOLOGICAL
ANALYSIS: INDUSTRY, RETAILAND
CONSTRUCTION INDICATORS
Volume2002,Supplement1
Copyrightedmat

FOREWORD
Thispublicationprovidescomparisonsofmethodologiesusedtocompilesomeoftheshort-term
peucbolnicoamtiiconisn.diTchaetoirnsdpiucabtloirsshecdovbeyrethdeaOreEpCubDlifsohreidtsiMnethmebmeorntcohulnytrOieEs.CIDtipsubtlhiecfaitrisotni,nMaasienriEescoonfosmuicch
Indicators(MEI).
Theprimarypurposeofthispublicationandthecompanionpublication,MainEconomic
Indicators:SourcesandDefinitionspublishedinJuly2000,istoprovideuserswithmethodological
informationunderlyingtheshort-termindicatorspublishedinMEI.Suchinformationisessentialto
ensuretheirappropriateuseinaninternationalcontextbyanalysts.Theinformationwillalsoenable
nationalstatisticalinstitutesandotheragenciesresponsibleforcompilingshort-termeconomic
indicatorstocomparetheirmethodologyanddatasourceswiththoseusedinothercountries.Finally,
itwillprovidearangeofoptionsforcountriesintheprocessofcreatingtheirownindicators,or
overhaulingexistingindicators.
Thecompanionpublication.MainEconomicIndicators:SourcesandDefinitions,provides
summarydescriptionsofindividualcountrymethodologiesusedinthecompilationofshort-term
economicindicatorsforMembercountriesandfornon-membercountrieswithintheprogramof
activitiesoftheCentreforCo-operationwithNon-Members(CCNM).Thecurrentpublicationdiffers
fromthesourcesanddefinitionspublicationinthatitcontainsmoreextensiveanalysisofthe
methodologiescountriesusetocompileshort-termeconomicindicatorspublishedinMEI.This
gaunialdyesliisnesfoacnudsersecoonmmisesnudeastioofndsatpaubcloimsphaerdabbiyltihteyOinECthDeacnondtoetxhterofinetxeirsntaitnigonailntaegrenantciioensalsuscthatiasstitchael
UnitedNations StatisticalDivision(UNSD). theInternationalMonetaryFund(IMF) andthe
InternationalLabourOrganisation(ILO).
Itisnotintendedthattheinformationinthispublicationshouldbeasdetailedasthatprovidedby
nationalinstitutesresponsibleforcompilingtheindicators.Insofaraspossible,thepublication
containsinformationenablingtheusertoaccessmoredetailedmethodologicalinformationavailable
fromthenationalcompiler,particularlywheresuchinformationcanbeaccessedfromwebsites.
NeevveerrythOelEeCssD,itMheamsbneortbceoeunntproys.siblIendteoedc,ovaersaelclomnedtahroydopluorgpiocsaelaosfpetchtesrpeulbaltiicnagttioontheisintdoichaitgohrlsigfhotr
importantareaswhere,forcertaincountries,gapsremainsothatthenationalagenciesresponsiblemay
takeactiontodisseminatetherequiredinformationwithreferencetowhatisavailableforother
Membercountries.
Internationaldatacomparabilityisbutoneaspectofthebroaderissueof"dataquality".Another
importantdimensionofdataqualitygivenevenmoreprominenceforshort-termindicatorsinrecent
yearsistimeliness.Inparticular,thegrowingimportanceoffinancialmarketsandthegovernmentand
non-governmentinstitutionsthatoperatewithinthosemarketshasmeantevenmorepressureon
agenciescompilinganddisseminatingindicatorstoprovidereliabledata,ontime,andassoonas
possibleafterthereferenceperiod.
Inrecentyears,nationalstatisticalinstitutesandinternationalorganisationshavedevotedmuch
attentiontothequalityofthedatatheycompileand/ordisseminate.Moreoftenthannot.themeaning
oftheterm“quality"istakenasgiven,togetherwithhowthe“quality”ofastatisticcanbedescribed,
eithertothestatisticsspecialistor,moreimportantly,tothenon-statisticalspecialistuserprimarily
interestedintheabilityofthedatatoadequatelyreflectthephenomenaitpurportstomeasure.Varied
3 Industry,RetailandConstructionInd©ica2t0o0r1sO'wEC”D
approachesareappliedtomeasuringstatisticalquality.Theserangefromtheidentificationofasetof
veryspecificquantitativemeasures,totheprovisionofqualitativedescriptionsofthemethodologies
usedinthecollectionandcompilationofthestatistics.Theseandotherissueshavebeenthesubjects
ofnumerousconferencesorganisedbynationalandinternationalagencies.
Theseeminglysimplelabel“quality”encompassesamyriadofissuesandtrade-offsunderlying
thestatisticscompiledbyvariousorganisations,thecomplexityofwhichprecludesanyoneapproach
beingcompletelyadequateforallstatisticalseries,forallusesofaspecificseriesandforallusersof
thedata.Theapproachadoptedinthispublicationistonarrowthefocustodatacomparability.
However,eventhisapproachisnotwithoutdifficulty,forexample,whatspecificaspectsofdata
collectionandcompilationdoesoneactuallycompareacrosscountriesandwhatimpactdoany
differencesidentifiedreallyhaveintermsoftheuseofthedata?
Asmentionedabove,thecomparabilityofthestatisticalseriespublishedinMEIisundertakenin
thecontextofexistinginternationalstatistical“standards”.Eventhistermraisestheissueofwhat
exactlyisan“internationalstatisticalstandard”.Relatedissuesthatcametolightintheprocessof
identifyingstatisticalstandardsforuseinthispublicationwere:statisticalsubjects(forshort-term
economicindicators)whereinternationalstandardswereeithernon-existentoroutofdate;thedegree
ofacceptanceofasetofguidelinesandrecommendationsasconstitutinga“standard”;andtheoften
general/broadtermsinwhichtherecommendationsembodiedinthestandardsareexpressed.The
authorsacknowledgethatthereisnouniqueanswertotheseandotherissuesraisedaboveand
emphasisethattheapproachadoptedhereisaninitialone.
Themainauthorsofthispublicationwere,inalphabeticalorder:ElizabethAlbarran,Patrick
Eparvier,BrianFinn,FredericParrot,RitaVarleyandDenisWard.
TheOECDSecretariatgratefullyacknowledgesthecontributionofthenationalstatistical
institutesandthevariousothernationalauthoritiesresponsibleforshort-termeconomicindicators,and
thanksthemfortheirco-operation.Withoutthisassistanceitwouldnothavebeenpossibletoproduce
thispublication.
AcknowledgementisalsogiventotheUnitedNationsStatisticalDivision,theInternational
LabourOrganisation,theInternationalMonetaryFundandtheStatisticalOfficeoftheEuropean
Communities(Eurostat)forthecountrymethodologicalinformationusedtosupplementandclarify
themethodologicalinformationprovideddirectlybynationalstatisticalagencies.
ThepublicationispublishedundertheresponsibilityoftheSecretary-GeneraloftheOECD.
StatisticsDirectorate
OECD
December2001
OECDM©2E0I0M1ethodologicalAnalysis-VolumeOne 4
t 11
TABLEOFCONTENTS
1.INTRODUCTION 7
11..12 NAeicmesosfittyhisfoprumbelitcaadtaitoanininterpretingdata 77
1.3 Internationalguidelinesforshort-termeconomicindicators 9
1.4 Statisticalmethodologicalinformationforinternationalcomparisons 10
11..56 TTaarrggeettdienfdiicnaitioornssffoorrMMaEiInEtacrognetominidcicIantdoircsa.t.o..r..s..„ 1164
U1.i7 CCoolnlcelcutsiioonnosfmethodologicalinformationforthispublication 1176
L9 Feedbackoncontents 17
2.INDICESOFINDUSTRIALPRODUCTION 19
2J Introduction IQ
222 Volumeindices 19
2.3 Internationalguidelinesandrecommendations 21
2.4 Frequencyofindustrialproductionindices 21
2.5 IndustrialproductionindicatorspublishedinMainEconomicIndicators 22
2.6 Accesstodetailedmethodologicalinformation 24
2.7 Nationalclassificationsofindustrialproduction 25
2.8 Statisticalpopulation 27
2.9 Statisticalunits 29
2.10Datasourceandcoverageofindicators 3
2.11 Indexcompilation 35
2.12Weightsusedforaggregation 37
3.RETAILTRADE 41
3J Introduction 41
3.2 Internationalguidelinesandrecommendations 41
3.3 Frequencyofretailtradedata 42
3.4 RetailtradeindicatorspublishedinMainEconomicIndicators 43
3.5 Accesstodetailedmethodologicalinformation 44
3.6 Statisticalpopulation 45
3.8 Datasourceandcoverageofindicators 52
3.9 Reportingunits 55
310Datacollected 51
3.11Basisofprices 60
3.12Compilationofretailsalesvolumeindices 6
4.CONSTRUCTION 65
4J Introduction 65
4.2 Internationalguidelinesandrecommendations 66
423 Classificationsofconstruction 67
4.4 ConstructionindicatorspublishedinMainEconomicIndicators 68
4J> Sourcesofconstructiondataandaccesstometadata 70
4.6 Indicatorsoffutureactivity 72
4.7 Indicatorsofactualactivity 75
Industry,RetailandConstructionIndicators

1.INTRODUCTION
1.1Necessityformetadataininterpretingdata
TheOECDcollectsanextensiverangeofstatisticsfrombothMemberandnon-membercountries
withintheprogrammeofactivitiesoftheCentreforCo-operationwithNon-Members(CCNM).The
primarypurposeforcollectingsuchinformationistoprovidethevariousDirectoratesinthe
OrganisationwithastatisticalbasefortheireconomicstudiesofMembercountries.Suchstudies
include economic surveys and economic analyses and policy recommendations to Member
governmentsincurrentareasofOECDactivity.However,thestatisticscollectedareofsimilaruseto
eoxfttehrinsa,lthaegeOncEiCesDaanldsoidnsitsisteumtiionnaste(sgomvoesrtnmoefntth,epirnifvoartem,ataicoandgeamtihce,reidntveirnaatainoneaxlt,enestci.v)e.rIannrgeecoogfnpiatpieorn
andelectronicpublications.
TheOECD’smonthlypublication,MainEconomicIndicators(MEI),providesanoverallviewof
short-termeconomicdevelopmentsthroughpresentationofanextensiverangeofspecificshort-term
economicindicatorswithineachofthefollowingsubjects:
• nationalaccounts • domesticdemand
• production • labourmarketindicators
• businessandconsumeropinions • prices
• compositeleadingindicators • finance
• manufacturing • foreigntrade
• construction • balanceofpayments
Theseindicatorsareimportantinstrumentsfortheformulationofeconomicpolicyatthenational
levelandforusebyinternationalorganisationssuchastheOECD,IMF.EurostatandtheEuropean
CentralBank(ECB).Theyarewellknown,widelycollectedandusedextensivelybycountriesand
internationalorganisations.
Inaddition,themethodsfortheircollectionandcompilationareusuallywellestablishedand
documented within each country and in statistical methodological information compiled by
internationalorganisationssuchastheIMFfortheirSpecialDataDisseminationStandard(SDDS).
Evenso,themethodologiesusedarenotalwaystransparentforalargenumberofusers.Insomecases,
thismayleadtomisinterpretationofstatisticaldataandamisunderstandingofeconomicphenomena,
especiallywhenmakinginternationalcomparisons.Undertakingsuchcomparisonrequiresaccessto
statisticalmethodologicalinformation(alsocommonlyreferredtoas“metadata”)thatoutlines
definitions, sources andmethods ofcompilation, etc., ofthe indicators in questionso that
cross-countrycomparability(orratherlimitationstoit)canbeunderstood.
1.2Aimofthispublication
Thispublicationisthefirstinaseriespresentingcomparisonsofmethodologyusedinthe
compilationofkeyshort-termeconomicindicatorspublishedinMEI.Inthisedition,thecomparisons
arerestrictedtoindustrialproductionindices,retailtradeandconstructionindicators.Subsequent
editionswillprovidesimilarcomparisonsforpriceindices;labourforce(employment,unemployment
7 Industry,RetailandConstructionInd©ic2a0t0or1sOECD
andearnings);businessandconsumeropinions;compositeleadingindicators;foreigntrade;and
finance.
Themainelementsusedinthecomparisonofnationalpracticesforkeyindicatorspublishedin
MEIcoveredinthispublicationare;
• existing international statistical guidelines and recommendations for short-term economic
indicators;
• targetdefinitionsderivedfromthoseinternationalstandards;
• summariesofstatisticalmethodologicalinformationoutliningcurrentnationalpracticesin
individualcountries;
• thelistofMEItargetshort-termeconomicindicators(i.e.whattheOECDwouldliketocollectfor
eachcountry);and
• theMEIdatainventorythatoutlineswhattheOECDactuallycollectsanddisseminates.
Theseelementsareusedincomparisonsofcurrentnationalstatisticalpracticessuchasthose
presentedinthispublicationandinrepoitsandassessmentsonotheraspectsofdataquality.
TherelationshipbetweentheseelementsisillustratedinDiagram1.
Diagram1:ElementsinthecomparisonofMEIshort-termeconomicindicators
Usesof
methodological
Existinginternational information Summariesofcurrent
statisticalguidelines nationalpractices
and (refer1.4)
recommendations
(refer1.3)
Country
comparisons
(comparability) Lindkestatiolemdore
methodological
Targetdefinitions information
(glossary) compiledby
(refer1.6) IMF,Eurostat,
Reportson national
otheraspects statistical
ofdataquality agencies
(refer1.7)
ListofOECDtarget MEIdatainventory
short-termeconomic (refer1.5)
indicators
(refer1.5)
OECDM©2E0I0M1ethodologicalAnalysis-VolumeOne 8
forthEexiMsEtiIngtairngteetrnsahtoirotn-atlesrtmatiinsdtiiccaaltogrusi,die.le.intehseasnhdorrte-cteormmmeencdoantoimoincsianrdeictahteorssoutrhactetohfetOheEdCefDinwiotiuolnds
lOiEkeCtDopaucbtluiaslhlyfoprubelaicshheMsefmobretrhocsoeunctoruyn.trTiehse,MeiEtIherdadtiareicntvleynotrorvyiaprootvhiedresinatedrentaatiiloendalliostrgoafniwshaatitontsh.e
Currentnationalpracticesregardingthecompilationofeachshort-termeconomicindicatorare
providedbynationalagencies(againeitherdirectlyorviaotherinternationalorganisations)inthe
formofstatisticalmethodologicalinformation.
Allfivecomponentsintheabovediagramareusedinthecomparisonsprovidedinthesubsequent
partsofthispublication.Thesecomparisonscomprise:
• adescriptionoftheindicator,andbackgroundinformationonthecontextanduse(s).Such
informationoftenprovidesaninsightintoareasandissuesthatimpactonthecomparabilityofthe
indicator,anindicationtousersonhowdatamaybeused,limitationstotheuseofthedata,etc.;
• referencetospecificexistinginternationalstatisticalguidelinesandrecommendations;
• relevantdataspecificationsanddefinitionsandotherinformationontheindicatorsactually
collectedfromMembercountries;
• summarycomparisontablesoutliningkeymethodologicalaspectsofcurrentnationalpracticefor
eachoftheindicatorsinthispublication{i.e.industrialproductionindices,retailtradeand
constructionindicators);
• theInternetaddressofdetailedmethodologicalinformationprovidedonwebsitesbynational
agenciesandotherinternationalorganisations(mostnotablytheIMFontheirDissemination
StandardsBulletinBoard(DSBB)andEurostat).
Resourceconstraintsprecludecomparisonsofallthemethodologicalissuesinvolvedinthe
collection,compilationandpresentationoftheindicatorscomparedinthispublication.Thoseincluded
inthecomparisontablesare(subjectively)thoughttohavethegreatestimpactondatacomparability.
TheyvaryforeachMEIseries.
1.3Internationalguidelinesforshort-termeconomicindicators
Overthelasttwoorthreedecadesanextensiverangeofguidelinesandrecommendationsfor
mostoftheshort-termeconomicindicatorspublishedinMEIhavebeenpreparedbyinternational
organisationsworkingwithnationalstatisticalinstitutesandotheragenciesresponsiblefortheir
compilationanddissemination.Themainobjectiveofsuchguidelinesandrecommendationsisthe
developmentofbestpracticeinthecollection,compilationandpresentationoftheindicators.Theuse
ofbestpracticealsocontributestowardsmakingtheindicatorsmorecomparable.Thecontentofthe
guidelinesvariesalthoughtheynormallyincludeanumberofdimensionssuchasdefinitionsofkey
terms,classificationsandrecommendationsonbestpracticeforthecollection,compilationand
presentationofstatistics.
Wheretheyexist,keymethodologicalitemswithinexistinginternationalstatisticalguidelines
(generallythosedevelopedbytheUnitedNationsStatisticalDivision(UNSD)andtheInternational
MonetaryFund(IMF))havebeenusedasthebasisforacross-countrycomparisonsinthispublication.
9 Industry,RetailandConstructionInd©ic2a0t0or1sOECD