Public Sector Debt Statistics (PSDSx)

Source details

Officials whose main responsibility is compiling and disseminating public sector debt statistics.

Expected academic background: degree in economics, public financial management, statistics, or equivalent experience.
Technical access: computer with a reliable Internet connection and a Google Chrome web browser.
Skills: basic Microsoft Excel skills.

Presented by the Statistics Department; covers fundamentals needed to compile and disseminate comprehensive public sector debt statistics (PSDS) useful for policy- and decision-makers, as well as other users.
Introduces the conceptual statistical framework for PSDS as presented in Public Sector Debt Statistics: Guide for Compilers and Users 2011 (PSDSG 2011) within the government finance statistics (GFS) framework, harmonized with other macroeconomic statistical frameworks.
Topics and methodological elements covered:
- Basic concepts, definitions, and classifications relevant to PSDS.
- Principal accounting rules, including valuation and consolidation, relevant for PSDS compilation.
- Recommended instrument and institutional coverage for compiling comprehensive, internationally comparable PSDS.
- Recording of contingent liabilities such as government guarantees.
- Impact on PSDS of debt-related issues including debt assumption, debt forgiveness, on-lending, financial leases, and financial bailouts.
- Important PSDS compilation considerations, including what PSDS to compile and disseminate.
- IMF’s guidelines and standards on disseminating PSDS.
- Possible uses of PSDS, including Debt Sustainability Analysis (DSA), and fiscal risk and vulnerability analyses.

Explain the essence of the GFS framework and how it relates to public sector debt statistics.
Apply the main macroeconomic principles to determine what is considered to be debt in the accounts of the debtor.
Apply the main macroeconomic principles to determine who is the debtor, classify the debtor appropriately inside or outside the public sector, and identify the types of counterparties to the debt instruments.
Use the principal macroeconomic accounting rules to compile public sector debt statistics.
Compile a comprehensive and internationally comparable public sector debt statistics report, with supplementary tables, that is suitable for fiscal policymaking and analyses.
Explain the importance of comprehensive, consistent, and comparable public sector debt statistics in various facets of fiscal policymaking, including Debt Sustainability Analysis (DSA).