13th Statistical Forum: Measuring Cross-Border Economic and Financial Linkages in a Dynamic World
November 19-20, 2025
The 13th Statistical Forum of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) will take place in hybrid format (in person and virtually) in Washington, D.C. from November 19 to 20, 2025. The Forum is a platform for policymakers, researchers, the private sector, regulators, and compilers of economic and financial data to come together to discuss cutting edge issues in macroeconomic and financial statistics and to build support for statistical improvements.
The theme of this year’s Statistical Forum is Measuring Cross-border Economic and Financial Linkages in a Dynamic World. The ongoing changes in the global economy emanating from globalization, digitalization, and innovations in financial markets and instruments are becoming more complex. Accurate measurement of these international interactions is needed to assist policymakers, macroeconomists, and businesses in making informed decisions at the time of increased uncertainty. The 13th Statistical Forum will explore how the recently updated International Statistical Standards, the Integrated Balance of Payment and International Investment Position Manual, seventh edition (BPM7) and System of National Accounts 2025 Manua (SNA2025), can help address some of the current measurement gaps and explore any new, emerging gaps that may need to be addressed by the statistical community.
13th IMF Statistical Forum Registration ▶
You may replay the 2-day conference via the Webex links below:
Agenda
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WEDNESDAY, November 19, 2025 |
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| 8:30-9:00am | Registration |
| 9:00-9:10am |
Introduction to the Forum Bert Kroese, Chief Statistician and Data Officer, and Director of IMF Statistics Department |
| 9:10-10:00am |
Keynote Speech: Simon Johnson, Professor, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management One-on-one Discussion: Nigel Clarke, Deputy Managing Director, IMF Simon Johnson, Professor, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management |
| 10:00-10:30am | Coffee Break |
| 10:30am-12:00pm |
Session II: Who is Making What with Whom? The Role of Global Producers and How to Measure Them The session will discuss the macroeconomic impact of multi-national enterprises (MNEs), global supply chains, and factoryless goods production and identify data needs to better understand international trade and investment flows and national income aggregates. Moderator: Cheng Hoon Lim, IMF Statistics Department Sourish Dutta (Vivekananda Institute of Professional Studies), The Anatomy of Value Creation: Input-Output Linkages, Policy Shifts, and Economic Impact in India's Mobile Phone GVC Christina Palmou (OECD), Understanding Supply Chains in OECD countries from VAT Transaction Data Oscar Lemmers (Statistics Netherlands), Estimating Granular Product-Level Trade in Global Value Chains Using Public Data Kieran Lind (The Office for National Statistics, UK), Globalisation in the UK National Accounts: Pharmaceuticals Questions and Answers |
| 12:00-1:30pm | Lunch: The One Billion Data Points Project: How the IMF’s Multi-regional Input Output Tables Can Improve Our Understanding of Global Interconnectedness? |
| 1:30-3:00pm |
Session III: Who is Buying What from Whom? The Role of Global Consumers and How to Measure Them This session will explore whether we have the right data and statistical processes to measure digitally ordered goods and services (e.g., streaming videos, online gaming, vacation packages, social media cultural content, AI subscription services, start-up financing, and donations) and adjust traditional macroeconomic statistics in a consistent way to support policy making. Moderator: Nigel Chalk, IMF Western Hemisphere Department Brian Mbazuvara (Central Bank of Namibia), Using Card Data to Measure E-commerce Transactions with Non-residents in Namibia Annabelle Mourougane (OECD), Deriving Experimental Estimates of Digital Trade Atika Nashirah Hasyyati (Statistics Indonesia), Estimating Household Trade in Digital Services Robert Zymek (IMF Research Department), Bilateral Trade in Services: Insights from a New Database Questions and Answers |
| 3:00-3:30pm | Coffee Break |
| 3:30-5:00pm |
Session IV: Panel Discussion Navigating Cross-border Policy Challenges in a Dynamic World – Emerging Data Gaps This session will explore how to inform key policy decisions related to recent policy-induced trade developments, changes in international investment patterns, interaction of capital flows with financial innovation and illicit financial flows, and cross-border flows of labor and remittances with adequate data. Moderator: Mariana Kotzeva, Eurostat Martin Galstyan, The Central Bank of Armenia Gian Maria Milesi-Ferretti, The Brookings Institution Robert Koopman, American University Petia Topalova, IMF Research Department |
| 5:00-6:30pm | Cocktail Reception |
| THURSDAY, November 20, 2025 | |
| 9:00-10:15am |
Session V: Beyond the Ledger: Measuring Cross-border Flows in the Age of Digital Finance This session will examine how rapid advances in financial technology and digital payment adoption are altering the landscape of international finance, with a focus on the data needed to understand the implications for traditional economic aggregates, financial stability, regulatory oversight, and efforts to address illicit financial flows. Moderator: Yan Liu, IMF Legal Department Ulf Lewrick (BIS), Implications of Financial Innovation for Measuring Financial Flows Andrei Kirilenko (University of Cambridge, Judge Business School), Bytes Crossing Borders Bidisha Das, Paweł Pisany (IMF Statistics Department), Navigating Digital Finance in the Interconnected World: Measurement and Data Challenges Maksym Markevych (IMF LEG Department), Detecting Illicit Financial Flows Questions and Answers |
| 10:15-10:30am | Coffee Break |
| 10:30am-12:00pm |
Session VI: Recent Advances by the Global Statistical System in Measuring Cross-Border Economic and Financial Linkages This session will discuss recent responses by statistical agencies and other institutions involved in statistical processes to develop methodologies and improve datasets to understand international economic and financial market developments. Moderator: Jim Tebrake, IMF Statistics Department Melle Bijlsma (De Nederlandsche Bank), Retained Earnings and the Current Account Sixto Muriel (National Statistical Institute of Spain), >Rethinking Data Collection Systems for a Globalized Production Landscape Carlos Sanchez-Munoz (IMF Statistics Department), Mapping Global Financial Interconnectedness Yang Can (State Administration of Foreign Exchange China), China's observation of FGP and the data bridging practices Amila Wijayawardhana (Central Bank of Sri Lanka), Bridging the Gap Between Immediate and Ultimate Investors: Operationalizing BPM7 Ultimate Investor Economy Recommendations Using Firm-Level Intelligence and Probabilistic Models Questions and Answers |
| 12:00-1:15pm | Lunch |
| 1:15-2:30pm |
Session VII: Bridging the Gaps: Minimizing Asymmetries in International Trade and Investment Statistics The session will explore the main drivers of discrepancies in bilateral and global macroeconomic statistics and discuss current efforts to address these asymmetries. Moderator: Gian Maria Milesi-Ferretti, The Brookings Institution Kristy Howell (IMF Statistics Department), Findings of the Task Team on Global Asymmetries Mohan Pudasaini (Government of Nepal), Bilateral Trade Asymmetries between Nepal and India: Evidence from Mirror Statistics Martin Schmitz (European Central Bank), Mind the Gap: Analysing Asymmetries in the Bilateral Euro Area–US Current Account Robert Leisch (Eurostat), Activities of Non-Resident VAT-Traders in the EU and the Needed IMTS Adjustments for BOP purposes Questions and Answers |
| 2:30-2:45pm | Coffee break |
| 2:45–3:55pm |
Session VIII: Closing Data Gaps: How Implementing the Updated BPM and SNA Can Improve Our Understanding of Cross-Border Economic and Financial Linkages This session will feature presentations from agencies actively working to elaborate and implement BPM7 and SNA2025 recommendations. Moderator: Bert Kroese, Chief Statistician and Data Officer, and Director, IMF Statistics Department Mariana Kotzeva, Director-General, Eurostat Andre Loranger, Chief Statistician, Statistics Canada James Benford, Director General for Economic Statistics, The Office of National Statistics, UK Li Ming Ong, Bank Negara Malaysia Questions and Answers |
| 4:00-4:50pm |
In Conversation with the Deputy Managing Director Moderator: Adam Posen, Peterson Institute for International Economics Nigel Clarke, Deputy Managing Director, IMF Dr. Catherine L Mann, External member of the Monetary Policy Committee, Bank of England |
| 4:50-5:00pm |
Closing Remarks Bert Kroese, Chief Statistician and Data Officer, and Director of IMF Statistics Department |