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Quarterly Update on the Special Data Dissemination Standard—Third Quarter 2001

In the third quarter, the Executive Board reviewed progress under the Fund's data standards initiatives and agreed on ways to move forward in these areas. Observance of the SDDS and the ability of subscribers to meet their data dissemination targets continued to improve. The task force on Statistical Data and Metadata Exchange (SDMX) held its first meeting on standardizing mechanisms for the dissemination and exchange of statistical information on the Internet. Further improvements to the Dissemination Standards Bulletin Board (DSBB) were introduced to enhance internal navigation and links to external sites.

Fourth Review of the Fund's Data Standards Initiatives

On July 23, 2001 the Executive Board of the IMF completed the Fourth Review of the Fund's Data Standards Initiatives, covering both the SDDS and the GDDS. The Board discussed procedures for nonobservance of the SDDS, the periodicity and timeliness for the dissemination of reserves template data, progress in implementing the external debt data category, and the GDDS. The staff paper prepared for the Board discussion (SM/01/208) and the conclusions of that discussion, summarized in the Press Information Notice (PIN/01/101), are posted on the Fund's external website.

As part of the Fourth Review, the Executive Board also approved the integration of the Data Quality Assessment Framework (DQAF) into the data module of the Reports on Observance of Standards and Codes(ROSCs), as a central element of a Data Quality Assessment Program (DQAP). The structure of the ROSC module will be preserved, and the module will continue to provide a summary assessment of a member's observance with data dissemination standards now complemented with a summary assessment of data quality. To access a background paper on the DQAF please click here.

In addition, the Board welcomed improvements in classification and coverage of data disseminated in the template on international reserves and foreign currency liquidity and agreed to retain monthly periodicity and timeliness for the dissemination of reserves template data. The Board supported staff plans to continue to solicit user feedback on the Fund's data dissemination standards and to develop an open exchange system, based on the latest technology, for the distribution and exchange of statistical information on the Internet.

The next review of the Fund's Data Standards Initiatives is expected to take place in the second half of 2003.

Observance Status

By the end of the third quarter, 47 of 49 subscribers met the SDDS requirements for the coverage, periodicity, and timeliness of the data and for the dissemination of advance release calendars, compared with 44 subscribers at the end of the previous quarter and 33 subscribers at the end of the third quarter of 2000 (Table 1).1 A complete list of subscribers indicating those in observance may be accessed on the Fund's DSBB at http://dsbb.imf.org/Applications/web/sddscountrylist/.

Table 1: SDDS Indicators
Indicators As of
September 30, 2000
As of
June 31, 2001
As of
September 30, 2001
Number of subscribers 47 49 49
  Number of countries in observance1 33 44 47
Countries working with IMF Staff for possible
  subscription
8 8 8
Number of countries with NSDP websites 47 49 49
  Number of countries with NSDP hyperlinked to
    the DSBB
36 47 47
Number of countries with summary methodologies
    posted
41 46 46
Number of summary methodologies
    posted
338 531 627
Subscribers disclosing data based on the reserves
    template
42 48 48
1Observance of the externally monitorable elements of the SDDS, i.e., the coverage, periodicity, and timeliness of the data and the use of advance release calendars. Other elements of the SDDS dealing with the integrity and quality of the data are on a self-disclosure basis, with subscribers providing information on which users can make their own judgments.

As of September 30, 2001 only two SDDS subscribers—Iceland and India—were not in observance of the Standard. Information on the status of these subscribers has been posted on the DSBB (See the What's New page). Fund staff has continued to monitor developments and work with these subscribers to redress outstanding observance issues.

Monitoring

Monitoring of the data and access dimensions of the SDDS is carried out against the release dates stated in subscribers' advance release calendars and metadata. In the third quarter, there was a substantial improvement in the number of subscribers meeting their release dates for the dissemination of all monthly and quarterly data compared with the same quarter of 2000 (Table 2). As well, for most data categories except merchandise trade, national accounts, employment, and wages and earnings, there was continued steady improvement compared with the previous quarter. These delays resulted largely from the summer vacation.

Table 2. Monitoring of Observance of the SDDS, July 2000–September 2001
Percentage of Monthly and Quarterly Data Disseminated on Time1

(Quarterly Averages)
Data Categories Q3/00 Q4/00 Q1/01 Q2 01 Q3 01
Monthly and Quarterly Data 70.0 78.8 85.3 90.2 92.4
Monthly Data 71.7 79.5 85.6 90.0 93.9
  Production index 72.9 76.2 86.8 88.7 96.1
  Consumer prices 76.3 82.6 90.4 95.7 97.2
  Producer prices 75.7 82.4 89.5 92.6 92.6
  Central government operations 61.4 71.9 74.4 78.9 88.0
  Analytical accounts of banking sector 72.1 78.3 82.2 86.0 91.6
  Analytical accounts of central bank 64.0 79.9 82.0 88.6 94.5
  Official reserves 76.6 84.1 87.0 92.2 95.9
  Reserve template 73.8 85.7 92.9 93.7 96.6
  Merchandise trade 72.9 74.3 85.5 93.6 92.4
Quarterly Data 67.5 77.8 84.8 90.6 91.0
  National accounts 74.1 75.0 86.5 94.1 92.2
  Employment 67.0 84.8 84.2 96.2 93.7
  Unemployment 69.2 83.5 87.6 94.4 94.1
  Wages and earnings 62.9 75.3 88.8 92.9 90.1
  Central government debt 60.4 69.0 74.1 77.8 90.1
  Balance of payments 71.3 79.3 87.5 88.1 91.9
1Number of data categories released on the day announced in the advance release calendar as a percentage of the total number of data categories to be released.

DSBB Enhancements

The DSBB enhancement project aims to improve the functionality of the web site through the use of state-of-the-art web-based technologies. The enhancements will significantly upgrade search and query facilities on the DSBB and open the possibility of searching and querying the content of related websites. Toward this end, the IMF, in collaboration with the BIS, ECB, Eurostat, OECD, and the UN, has formed a task force on Statistical Data and Metadata Exchange (SDMX). The task force aims to develop forward-looking standards and protocols, while leveraging the current investments of the participating organizations in data and metadata exchange systems.

The initial meeting of the SDMX task force was held at IMF headquarters in Washington, D.C. on September 6–7, 2001. The meeting reviewed the status of task force members' electronic exchange and dissemination practices. Next steps include the development of common standards and protocols for electronic exchange and dissemination of statistical information that are consistent with emerging standards for electronic business (for further information on this workshop, please send an email request to mailto:sdmx@imf.org).

Other DSBB Developments

Users will notice changes to the DSBB that facilitate navigation within the site and accessing external sites. These changes include the following:

  • Increased number of hyperlinks from the DSBB (base pages, dissemination formats, and summary methodology pages) to National Summary Data Pages (NSDPs) for easy reference to external data.
  • Increased number of internal links on the DSBB.
  • Improved interface for European Economic and Monetary Union members who are SDDS subscribers so that users can easily access complementary data and metadata provided by the European Central Bank and Eurostat through hyperlinks from the DSBB to these sites.

Interest in the SDDS among users has continued to grow. The number of "hits" on the DSBB rose threefold since March 2000 to over three quarters of a million in September 2001.


1Australia is availing itself of special transitional arrangements approved by the Executive Board under the Third Review for countries implementing accrual accounting for fiscal data.