## EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ## Source details **Canonical URL:** [EXECUTIVE SUMMARY](https://www.imf.org/-/media/files/publications/pp/2024/english/ppea2024002.pdf) ## Other formats - [Markdown version](/-/media/files/publications/pp/2024/english/ppea2024002.pdf.md) - [Structured JSON version](/-/media/files/publications/pp/2024/english/ppea2024002.pdf.json) --- ### Purpose and context - The Data Adequacy Assessment for Surveillance (DAA) is a key element of the framework for Data Provision to the Fund for Surveillance Purposes (DPF), aimed at ensuring high-quality data for economic analysis and policy advice. - The Board endorsed the new principle-based DAA framework in March 2022, with an initial start date of January 2023; implementation was delayed by the status of the DPF review. - Staff proposes proceeding with implementation of the new DAA ahead of the conclusion of the DPF review, with a target rollout date of February 1, 2024. - Date appearing in the document: November 27, 2023. ### Main features of the new DAA framework - More structured, principle-based, and transparent assessment of data adequacy to support surveillance. - Greater objectivity and granularity: - The DAA questionnaire guides data-related discussions during Article IV consultations and captures the impact of various aspects of data quality on surveillance effectiveness. - Categories of data adequacy assessments increased from three to four (A, B, C, and D) to allow greater differentiation. - More transparent integration into Article IV staff reports: - A new Data Issues Annex (DIA), integrated into the staff report, will replace the current Statistical Issues Appendix (SIA) in the Informational Annex. - The DIA will explain the rationale for assessments, highlight corrective actions, remaining data gaps, and potential capacity development (CD) needs. - Data issues that significantly hamper surveillance will continue to be flagged in the staff appraisal of Staff Reports; for category C and D countries, data issues should be explicitly discussed in Article IV staff reports; major deficiencies (Category D countries) will need to be discussed in the staff appraisal. - Dynamic enhancements: - The DAA questionnaire will be periodically refined based on feedback from country authorities and staff. - STA will maintain a new reference database on data quality characteristics and a database to store country teams’ questionnaire responses, overall assessment ratings, and corrective actions. ### Operational design and resource considerations - Streamlined questionnaire and factual support: - The questionnaire was reduced from 30 to 18 questions (see Appendix I). - STA will provide country teams with internal data quality factsheets (generated from an internal database drawing from several IMF datasets and data disseminated by country authorities) to support greater objectivity and reduce repetitive factual questions. - Sectoral focus and data quality characteristics: - The questionnaire covers sectors: national accounts, price indices, government finance and debt statistics, external sector statistics, and monetary and financial statistics. - Questions span data quality characteristics: coverage, frequency/timeliness, reliability, consistency, and data granularity. - Country teams assess if sectoral data are adequate for surveillance, taking into account factsheets and judgment; large divergences between factsheets and teams’ responses will be discussed internally and, if needed, explained in Article IV staff reports. - Trial and feedback: - Twenty country teams were involved in the 2019 DAA trial exercise; completing the questionnaire for the first time required "just a few hours" according to participants. - Area departments raised resource/time concerns during Article IV missions; the streamlined design and provision of factsheets aim to address these concerns. ### Classification changes and reporting - Data adequacy categories: - Increased from three to four categories: A, B, C, and D. - Categories A and B: data are adequate or broadly adequate for surveillance. - Categories C and D: data weaknesses hamper surveillance to some degree (C) or significantly (D). - Reporting and transparency: - The DIA will summarize sector-specific assessments and articulate rationale for the overall assessment, corrective actions, authorities’ plans to address data gaps, and priorities for CD. - The DIA will continue to include the Table of Common Indicators Required for Surveillance (TCIRS) and participation in IMF Data Standards Initiatives. - When completed, the DPF Review may update the list of mandatory series; the list of indicators in the TCIRS table will be updated accordingly. ### Rationale for immediate rollout - To avoid further delays tied to ongoing DPF review discussions on mandatory data provision, staff seeks Board endorsement, on a lapse-of-time basis, for the February 1, 2024 rollout of the new DAA framework. - The new framework responds to prior evaluations that assessments were "more-favorable-than-warranted" and that the SIA was "largely ignored" because it was not integrated into the staff report; it aims to improve candor, clarity of rationale, and integration of surveillance and capacity development. ### Implementation support and resources - STA is allocating resources (1 Full Time Equivalent, FTE) to support country teams when preparing the first DAA for an Article IV consultation. - STA will plan outreach events during the 2024 Spring Meetings to raise awareness among country authorities of the new DAA framework and their implications for surveillance. - STA stands ready to engage with country authorities by remotely attending data-related discussions during Article IV missions. - A new pilot initiative to place STA economists on Article IV missions would help facilitate the transition; the initial number of missions covered will be small. - Once the new framework is established, resource demands on country authorities, IMF country teams, reviewing departments, and STA are expected to be moderate, as the one-time investment in the DAA will be followed by regular updates in future Article IV consultations. ### Timeline and Board endorsement request - Staff requests Board endorsement to introduce the new DAA framework in Article IV consultations initiated (i.e., when the Policy Consultation Meeting takes place) after February 1, 2024. - For Article IV consultations with policy consultation meetings before February 1, 2024, the current framework for assessing data adequacy will remain in place. - Staff proposes proceeding with implementation of the new DAA framework, including replacement of the SIA with the new DIA, which will be moved to be an annex to the main staff report, ahead of the completion of the DPF Review. - The new proposed start date is intended to give staff sufficient time and a predictable schedule to plan the implementation of the DAA (Figure 4). ### Questionnaire structure and purpose - The questionnaire has six sections that evaluate the adequacy of data provision for surveillance purposes, where adequacy is as defined in the table below (category A, B, C and D). - The first two sections focus on statistics in the real sector (national accounts and price indices); the next three sections focus on the fiscal, external, and financial sectors; the last section addresses inter-sectoral consistency. - To support the country team’s assessment, STA provides for each section of the questionnaire a data quality factsheet about the country’s data quality characteristics (coverage, consistency, reliability, and timeliness), using data and metadata from IMF databases and those reported/published by countries. - The criteria provided for each question and accompanying data quality factsheets are not meant to be exhaustive; country teams should consider all data available to the team and other important aspects in which data affects surveillance. ### Definition of Categories of Data Adequacy for Surveillance - Category A: The data provided to the Fund is adequate for surveillance: this indicates that the data is comprehensive, consistent, and covers all the aspects relevant for surveillance purposes. There is a high level of confidence in the overall quality of the data and the team’s analysis. - Category B: The data provided to the Fund has some shortcomings but is broadly adequate for surveillance: This indicates that the data provided to the Fund is mostly comprehensive and consistent, covering a wide range of aspects relevant for surveillance purposes. There may be some shortcomings or minor gaps, but they do not significantly impact the overall quality of the team’s analysis. - Category C: The data provided to the Fund has shortcomings that somewhat hamper surveillance: This indicates that the data provided to the Fund may have some notable gaps or limitations that could affect the overall quality of the team’s analysis. - Category D: The data provided to the Fund has serious shortcomings that significantly hamper surveillance: This indicates that the data is minimally sufficient for surveillance purposes. It may have significant gaps, limitations, or inconsistencies that compromise the overall quality of the team’s analysis. ### Sectoral questionnaire items (selected highlights) - Real Sector Statistics – GDP/National Accounts - Coverage, Granularity, Frequency/Timeliness — each item requires selecting A, B, C, or D. - Real Sector Statistics – Consumer Price Index (CPI) - Coverage and Frequency/Timeliness — each item requires selecting A, B, C, or D. - Fiscal Sector Statistics – Government Operations and Debt - Coverage; Granularity of Government Operations; Granularity of Debt Statistics; Consistency; Frequency/Timeliness — each item requires selecting A, B, C, or D. - External Sector Statistics - Coverage; Granularity; Frequency/Timeliness — each item requires selecting A, B, C, or D. - Monetary and Financial Sector Statistics - Coverage; Granularity of Monetary and Financial Statistics; Granularity of Financial Soundness Indicators; Frequency/Timeliness — each item requires selecting A, B, C, or D. - Inter-sectoral Consistency of Macroeconomic Statistics - Inter-sectoral consistency — assesses consistency across central bank, government finance statistics, commercial banks' balance sheets, trade data, and public investment reporting; select A, B, C, or D and provide Comment. ### Data Issues Annex and reporting outputs - Appendix II: Sample Data Issues Annex - Template elements include: [COUNTRY NAME]: Data Issues Annex; As of [DATE]; Data Adequacy Assessment Rating; Questionnaire Scores; Detailed Questionnaire Results; Data quality characteristics; Notes and definitions (e.g., CPI, Debt, ESS, FSI, GFS, GO, MFS, NA). - Example median/questionnaire scoring line: A B B B C A B (presented under "Questionnaire Scores"). - Required narrative elements in annex: - Rationale for the assessment (explain whether data weaknesses have a bearing on staff’s analysis). - Progress since the last Article IV Consultation. - Identify corrective actions and prioritize capacity development. - Explain if staff used data different from official statistics and rationale for estimating data. - Identify remaining data gaps and highlight data needs not covered in the questionnaire (e.g., climate change, income and gender inequality, digitalization). - Data Standards Initiatives participation and progress. ### Tables and indicators for surveillance - Template includes a "Table of Common Indicators Required for Surveillance" with items such as: - Central Bank Balance Sheet; International Investment Position; Stocks of Central Government and Central Government-Guaranteed Debt; External Current Account Balance; Exports and Imports of Goods and Services; GDP/GNP; Gross External Debt; Consolidated Balance Sheet of the Banking System; Interest Rates; Consumer Price Index; Revenue, Expenditure, Balance and Composition of Financing — General Government and Central Government; Exchange Rates; International Reserve Assets and Reserve Liabilities of the Monetary Authorities; Reserve/Base Money; Broad Money. - Frequency and timeliness codes referenced: Daily (D), Weekly (W), Monthly (M), Quarterly (Q), Annually (A); Irregular (I); Not Available (NA). - Footnote references preserved as in source (e.g., 1,2,3,4,5,6,7) without expansion. *Prepared by Statistics Department (STA), with inputs from Strategy, Policy, and Review Department (SPR); Approved By Cheng Hoon Lim and Daria Zakharova. Source: ppea2024002 - EXECUTIVE SUMMARY (November 27, 2023).* ### EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ### EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ### Purpose and context - The Data Adequacy Assessment for Surveillance (DAA) is a key element of the framework for Data Provision to the Fund for Surveillance Purposes (DPF), aimed at ensuring high-quality data for economic analysis and policy advice. - The Board endorsed the new principle-based DAA framework in March 2022, with an initial start date of January 2023; implementation was delayed by the status of the DPF review. - Staff proposes proceeding with implementation of the new DAA ahead of the conclusion of the DPF review, with a target rollout date of February 1, 2024. - Date appearing in the document: November 27, 2023. ### Main features of the new DAA framework - More structured, principle-based, and transparent assessment of data adequacy to support surveillance. - Greater objectivity and granularity: - The DAA questionnaire guides data-related discussions during Article IV consultations and captures the impact of various aspects of data quality on surveillance effectiveness. - Categories of data adequacy assessments increased from three to four (A, B, C, and D) to allow greater differentiation. - More transparent integration into Article IV staff reports: - A new Data Issues Annex (DIA), integrated into the staff report, will replace the current Statistical Issues Appendix (SIA) in the Informational Annex. - The DIA will explain the rationale for assessments, highlight corrective actions, remaining data gaps, and potential capacity development (CD) needs. - Data issues that significantly hamper surveillance will continue to be flagged in the staff appraisal of Staff Reports; for category C and D countries, data issues should be explicitly discussed in Article IV staff reports; major deficiencies (Category D countries) will need to be discussed in the staff appraisal. - Dynamic enhancements: - The DAA questionnaire will be periodically refined based on feedback from country authorities and staff. - STA will maintain a new reference database on data quality characteristics and a database to store country teams’ questionnaire responses, overall assessment ratings, and corrective actions. ### Operational design and resource considerations - Streamlined questionnaire and factual support: - The questionnaire was reduced from 30 to 18 questions (see Appendix I). - STA will provide country teams with internal data quality factsheets (generated from an internal database drawing from several IMF datasets and data disseminated by country authorities) to support greater objectivity and reduce repetitive factual questions. - Sectoral focus and data quality characteristics: - The questionnaire covers sectors: national accounts, price indices, government finance and debt statistics, external sector statistics, and monetary and financial statistics. - Questions span data quality characteristics: coverage, frequency/timeliness, reliability, consistency, and data granularity. - Country teams assess if sectoral data are adequate for surveillance, taking into account factsheets and judgment; large divergences between factsheets and teams’ responses will be discussed internally and, if needed, explained in Article IV staff reports. - Trial and feedback: - Twenty country teams were involved in the 2019 DAA trial exercise; completing the questionnaire for the first time required "just a few hours" according to participants. - Area departments raised resource/time concerns during Article IV missions; the streamlined design and provision of factsheets aim to address these concerns. ### Classification changes and reporting - Data adequacy categories: - Increased from three to four categories: A, B, C, and D. - Categories A and B: data are adequate or broadly adequate for surveillance. - Categories C and D: data weaknesses hamper surveillance to some degree (C) or significantly (D). - Reporting and transparency: - The DIA will summarize sector-specific assessments and articulate rationale for the overall assessment, corrective actions, authorities’ plans to address data gaps, and priorities for CD. - The DIA will continue to include the Table of Common Indicators Required for Surveillance (TCIRS) and participation in IMF Data Standards Initiatives. - When completed, the DPF Review may update the list of mandatory series; the list of indicators in the TCIRS table will be updated accordingly. ### Rationale for immediate rollout - To avoid further delays tied to ongoing DPF review discussions on mandatory data provision, staff seeks Board endorsement, on a lapse-of-time basis, for the February 1, 2024 rollout of the new DAA framework. - The new framework responds to prior evaluations that assessments were "more-favorable-than-warranted" and that the SIA was "largely ignored" because it was not integrated into the staff report; it aims to improve candor, clarity of rationale, and integration of surveillance and capacity development. *Prepared by Statistics Department (STA), with inputs from Strategy, Policy, and Review Department (SPR); Approved By Cheng Hoon Lim and Daria Zakharova. Source: ppea2024002 - EXECUTIVE SUMMARY (November 27, 2023).* ### 8. STA will support country teams during the implementation of the new DAA and is ### 8. STA will support country teams during the implementation of the new DAA and is ### Implementation support and resources - STA is allocating resources (1 Full Time Equivalent, FTE) to support country teams when preparing the first DAA for an Article IV consultation. - STA will plan outreach events during the 2024 Spring Meetings to raise awareness among country authorities of the new DAA framework and their implications for surveillance. - STA stands ready to engage with country authorities by remotely attending data-related discussions during Article IV missions. - A new pilot initiative to place STA economists on Article IV missions would help facilitate the transition; the initial number of missions covered will be small. - Once the new framework is established, resource demands on country authorities, IMF country teams, reviewing departments, and STA are expected to be moderate, as the one-time investment in the DAA will be followed by regular updates in future Article IV consultations. ### Timeline and Board endorsement request - Staff requests Board endorsement to introduce the new DAA framework in Article IV consultations initiated (i.e., when the Policy Consultation Meeting takes place) after February 1, 2024. - For Article IV consultations with policy consultation meetings before February 1, 2024, the current framework for assessing data adequacy will remain in place. - Staff proposes proceeding with implementation of the new DAA framework, including replacement of the SIA with the new DIA, which will be moved to be an annex to the main staff report, ahead of the completion of the DPF Review. - The new proposed start date is intended to give staff sufficient time and a predictable schedule to plan the implementation of the DAA (Figure 4). ### Questionnaire structure and purpose - The questionnaire has six sections that evaluate the adequacy of data provision for surveillance purposes, where adequacy is as defined in the table below (category A, B, C and D). - The first two sections focus on statistics in the real sector (national accounts and price indices); the next three sections focus on the fiscal, external, and financial sectors; the last section addresses inter-sectoral consistency. - To support the country team’s assessment, STA provides for each section of the questionnaire a data quality factsheet about the country’s data quality characteristics (coverage, consistency, reliability, and timeliness), using data and metadata from IMF databases and those reported/published by countries. - The criteria provided for each question and accompanying data quality factsheets are not meant to be exhaustive; country teams should consider all data available to the team and other important aspects in which data affects surveillance. ### Definition of Categories of Data Adequacy for Surveillance - Category A: The data provided to the Fund is adequate for surveillance: this indicates that the data is comprehensive, consistent, and covers all the aspects relevant for surveillance purposes. There is a high level of confidence in the overall quality of the data and the team’s analysis. - Category B: The data provided to the Fund has some shortcomings but is broadly adequate for surveillance: This indicates that the data provided to the Fund is mostly comprehensive and consistent, covering a wide range of aspects relevant for surveillance purposes. There may be some shortcomings or minor gaps, but they do not significantly impact the overall quality of the team’s analysis. - Category C: The data provided to the Fund has shortcomings that somewhat hamper surveillance: This indicates that the data provided to the Fund may have some notable gaps or limitations that could affect the overall quality of the team’s analysis. - Category D: The data provided to the Fund has serious shortcomings that significantly hamper surveillance: This indicates that the data is minimally sufficient for surveillance purposes. It may have significant gaps, limitations, or inconsistencies that compromise the overall quality of the team’s analysis. ### Sectoral questionnaire items (selected highlights) - Real Sector Statistics – GDP/National Accounts - Coverage, Granularity, Frequency/Timeliness — each item requires selecting A, B, C, or D. - Real Sector Statistics – Consumer Price Index (CPI) - Coverage and Frequency/Timeliness — each item requires selecting A, B, C, or D. - Fiscal Sector Statistics – Government Operations and Debt - Coverage; Granularity of Government Operations; Granularity of Debt Statistics; Consistency; Frequency/Timeliness — each item requires selecting A, B, C, or D. - External Sector Statistics - Coverage; Granularity; Frequency/Timeliness — each item requires selecting A, B, C, or D. - Monetary and Financial Sector Statistics - Coverage; Granularity of Monetary and Financial Statistics; Granularity of Financial Soundness Indicators; Frequency/Timeliness — each item requires selecting A, B, C, or D. - Inter-sectoral Consistency of Macroeconomic Statistics - Inter-sectoral consistency — assesses consistency across central bank, government finance statistics, commercial banks' balance sheets, trade data, and public investment reporting; select A, B, C, or D and provide Comment. ### Data Issues Annex and reporting outputs - Appendix II: Sample Data Issues Annex - Template elements include: [COUNTRY NAME]: Data Issues Annex; As of [DATE]; Data Adequacy Assessment Rating; Questionnaire Scores; Detailed Questionnaire Results; Data quality characteristics; Notes and definitions (e.g., CPI, Debt, ESS, FSI, GFS, GO, MFS, NA). - Example median/questionnaire scoring line: A B B B C A B (presented under "Questionnaire Scores"). - Required narrative elements in annex: - Rationale for the assessment (explain whether data weaknesses have a bearing on staff’s analysis). - Progress since the last Article IV Consultation. - Identify corrective actions and prioritize capacity development. - Explain if staff used data different from official statistics and rationale for estimating data. - Identify remaining data gaps and highlight data needs not covered in the questionnaire (e.g., climate change, income and gender inequality, digitalization). - Data Standards Initiatives participation and progress. ### Tables and indicators for surveillance - Template includes a "Table of Common Indicators Required for Surveillance" with items such as: - Central Bank Balance Sheet; International Investment Position; Stocks of Central Government and Central Government-Guaranteed Debt; External Current Account Balance; Exports and Imports of Goods and Services; GDP/GNP; Gross External Debt; Consolidated Balance Sheet of the Banking System; Interest Rates; Consumer Price Index; Revenue, Expenditure, Balance and Composition of Financing — General Government and Central Government; Exchange Rates; International Reserve Assets and Reserve Liabilities of the Monetary Authorities; Reserve/Base Money; Broad Money. - Frequency and timeliness codes referenced: Daily (D), Weekly (W), Monthly (M), Quarterly (Q), Annually (A); Irregular (I); Not Available (NA). - Footnote references preserved as in source (e.g., 1,2,3,4,5,6,7) without expansion. *International Monetary Fund — ppea2024002 (section content as provided)* --- _Source: https://www.imf.org/-/media/files/publications/pp/2024/english/ppea2024002.pdf_