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Quarterly Update on the Special Data Dissemination Standard

Second Quarter 2006

July 31, 2006
 

New Subscribers

Luxembourg's Subscription to the SDDS

On May 12, 2006, Luxembourg became the 64th subscriber to the International Monetary Fund's Special Data Dissemination Standard (SDDS), marking a major step forward in the development of the country's statistical system. The Luxembourg authorities view subscription as the culmination of many initiatives on the statistical front.

The Republic of Moldova's Subscription to the SDDS

On May 2, 2006, the Republic of Moldova became the 63rd subscriber to the International Monetary Fund's Special Data Dissemination Standard (SDDS), marking a major step forward in the development of the country's statistical system. The Moldovan authorities view subscription as the culmination of many initiatives on the statistical front. The Republic of Moldova is the sixth country to graduate from the GDDS to the SDDS.


Observance Status

As of the end of the second quarter of 2006, all 64 SDDS subscribers were declared in observance of the SDDS requirements for the coverage, periodicity, and timeliness of the data and for the dissemination of advance release calendars (ARCs) (Table 1). The IMF's Dissemination Standards Bulletin Board (DSBB) disseminates a complete list of subscribers. Observance of SDDS metadata requirements improved with the increase in posted summary methodologies.

Table 1. SDDS Indicators
Indicators As of
June 30, 2005		 As of
March 31, 2006		 As of
June 30, 2006
Number of subscribers 61 62 64
Number of countries officially in observance1 61 62 64
Number of summary methodologies posted2 1161 1200 1253
1Observance of the requirements of the SDDS with respect to the coverage, periodicity, and timeliness of the data and the use of ARCs. 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. A subscriber experiencing difficulties in meeting SDDS requirements is not automatically in "nonobservance" of the SDDS. When deviations from SDDS requirements occur, the IMF staff tries to resolve the issue with the subscriber, and then, if necessary, through the Executive Director. If these efforts fail, the matter is brought to the attention of the subscriber's Governor for the Fund. A subscriber is officially declared in "nonobservance" only when a note to that effect is posted on the DSBB.
2Out of a required total of 1,360 summary methodologies (21 data categories per subscriber, plus 16 subscribers that are currently disseminating the encouraged forward-looking indicators). All subscribers are disseminating summary methodologies for most data categories.

Monitoring Data Releases

The IMF monitors the data and access dimensions of the SDDS for each subscriber by comparing the first appearance of new information on the National Summary Data Page (NSDP) against the last release date announced in the ARC, which should meet the SDDS timeliness requirements. Table 2 contains results for the second quarter of 2006. Compared with the same quarter in 2005 and the first quarter of 2006, the timeliness of the 2006 Q2 reporting improved for data that are disseminated on a monthly and annual basis, while data disseminated on a quarterly basis decreased due to delays in the labor market data.

Table 2. Monitoring of Data Releases
2005 Quarter 2 – 2006 Quarter 21
Data Categories Q2/05 (R) Q1/06(R) Q2/06
Monthly data 89.8 88.8 91.3
   Production index 90.6 91.4 93.2
   Consumer prices 96.1 95.0 94.6
   Producer prices 94.3 90.4 92.8
   Central government operations 80.7 74.5 85.0
   Analytical accounts of banking sector 90.3 88.4 90.7
   Analytical accounts of central bank 88.3 86.8 91.4
   Official reserves 86.0 94.1 92.0
   Reserves template 88.9 88.2 90.9
   Merchandise trade 93.3 90.7 91.4
Quarterly data 92.8 91.9 89.6
   National accounts 91.8 93.4 93.7
   Employment 93.2 95.3 87.6
   Unemployment 94.2 97.6 90.2
   Wages and earnings 91.8 89.1 85.5
   Central government debt 83.7 87.0 84.4
   Balance of payments 94.6 92.8 92.7
   External debt 100.0 88.4 92.9
Annual data 83.5 85.2 85.9
   General government operations 75.9 80.5 80.4
   International investment position 91.1 90.0 91.5
(R): Revised.
1Percentage of data categories subscribers disseminated on their National Summary Data Pages (NSDP) in accordance with SDDS timeliness requirements (quarterly averages)

DQAF Conversion of Metadata

In November 2005, the Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) conducted its Sixth Review of the IMF's Data Standards Initiatives. During the Review, the Executive Directors agreed that using a common metadata structure will increase the effectiveness and the efficiency of IMF staff's work on the SDDS, the GDDS, the data module of the Reports on the Observance of Standards and Codes, and statistical technical assistance. In particular, the Executive Directors endorsed the further integration of the SDDS and the GDDS into the IMF's Data Quality Program by reformatting countries' SDDS/GDDS metadata according to the Data Quality Assessment Framework (DQAF).1

The Board also agreed that the IMF staff should undertake reformatting the SDDS and GDDS metadata into the DQAF structure. The staff began conversion of metadata on the Dissemination Standards Bulletin Board (DSBB) to the DQAF format in March 2006 and expects to complete conversion for all SDDS subscribers during 2006. At this report, the staff had converted the metadata for thirty two countries, and DQAF metadata for Finland, Greece, France, Netherlands, and Norway have been posted on the DSBB. Posting the remaining 27 countries' DQAF metadata is pending their review and approval from the respective national authorities.

1Material on the DQAF can be found at http://dsbb.imf.org/Applications/web/dqrs/dqrshome/, which gives an overview of the data quality initiative at the IMF.