Some Principles for Development of Statistics for a Gulf Cooperation Council Currency Union

IMF Working Papers, June 1, 2006

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Canonical URL: Some Principles for Development of Statistics for a Gulf Cooperation Council Currency Union

The paper looks ahead to the creation of a Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Currency Union in 2010 and covers implications for the statistical programs of the GCC countries.
Despite uncertainty over the structure of the proposed union, the paper envisions several mutually reinforcing types of statistics to support a currency union.
Major changes to national statistical programs are needed and should begin soon.

Convergence criteria statistics.
Statistics on the core policy variables and instruments.
Additional macroeconomic data.
Specialized statistics related to the economic and institutional conditions within the union.
Public information to support transparency and policy communication.

Statistical systems must adapt to support a monetary union even in the presence of structural uncertainty about the union's design.
A broad set of mutually reinforcing statistics is necessary to monitor convergence, monetary policy implementation, and the macroeconomic environment.
Timely modernization and expansion of national statistical programs are essential and should commence without delay.

Begin major changes to national statistical programs soon to meet the informational needs of a GCC Currency Union.
Develop statistics that directly support assessment of convergence criteria and monitoring of core policy variables and instruments.
Expand macroeconomic and specialized statistical collections to reflect the economic and institutional conditions within the union.
Enhance public information dissemination to ensure transparency and accountability.

IMF Working Paper No. 2006/141 (Russell C Krueger and Ettore Kovarich), June 1, 2006.