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Quarterly Update on the Special Data Dissemination Standard—First Quarter 2004 May 13, 2004 New Subscribers On February 12, 2004 Uruguay became the fifty-sixth country to subscribe to the International Monetary Fund's Special Data Dissemination Standard (SDDS). Uruguay is the tenth country of the Latin American region to subscribe. On February 26, 2004, the Kyrgyz Republic became the fifty-seventh country to subscribe to the SDDS. The Kyrgyz Republic is the fourth country of the Commonwealth of Independent States to subscribe. The Kyrgyz Republic had been participating in the IMF's General Data Dissemination System (GDDS) since February 14, 2001. Observance Status By the end of the first quarter of 2004, 56 of 57 subscribers met the SDDS requirements for the coverage, periodicity, and timeliness of the data and for the dissemination of advance release calendars (ARCs) (Table 1). (A complete list of subscribers may be accessed on the IMF's Dissemination Standards Bulletin Board (DSBB).

Table 1. SDDS Indicators Indicators As of Mar. 31, 2003 As of Dec. 31, 2003 As of Mar. 31, 2004 Number of subscribers 53 55 57 Number of countries in observance1/ 52 54 56 Number of countries with summary methodologies posted 53 55 57 Number of summary methodologies posted2/ 835 922 974 Subscribers disseminating external debt data on the national summary data page (NSDP)3/ 8 54 56 1/ Observance 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. When deviations from SDDS requirements occur, the IMF staff try 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 "non-observant" only when a note to that effect is posted on the DSBB. 2/ Out of a potential total of 1,213 summary methodologies (21 data categories per subscriber, plus 16 subscribers that are currently disseminating the encouraged forward-looking indicators). 3/ The transition period for the dissemination of external debt data expired on March 31, 2003. Given that these data are to be disseminated with quarterly periodicity and three months timeliness, data forend-June 2003 were required to be disseminated no later than September 30, 2003. Monitoring of Data Releases Monitoring of the data and access dimensions of the SDDS is carried out against the release dates stated in subscribers' (ARCs) and metadata. In the first quarter of 2004, there was a decline of about 3 percentage points in the on-time dissemination of monthly data categories compared with the same quarter in 2003 and almost no change for quarterly data categories (Table 2). Compared to the previous quarter, there was a decline of about 1 percentage point in the on-time dissemination of monthly data categories and an increase of 1 percentage point for quarterly data categories compared with the previous quarter; central government operations experienced a sharp decline of more than 9 percentage points and producer prices declined by about 7 percentage points. The compliance rate for the external debt increased by more than 10 percentage points, indicating that subscribers are gaining experience with the dissemination of this new data category. Annual data also experienced an increase of about 10 percentage points compared to the previous quarter, but remains almost unchanged compared to the same quarter in 2003. Table 2. Monitoring of Data Releases January 2003–March 2004 (percentage of data disseminated on time1 (quarterly averages) Data Categories Q1/03 (R) Q4/03 Q1/04 Monthly data 92.2 90.2 88.9 Production index 94.6 91.3 94.2 Consumer prices 97.4 93.5 94.5 Producer prices 94.4 95.9 89.2 Central government operations 80.1 84.1 74.8 Analytical accounts of banking sector 91.0 89.5 90.4 Analytical accounts of central bank 93.8 88.5 87.2 Official reserves 92.8 88.0 87.3 Reserves template 94.3 88.7 90.4 Merchandise trade 91.3 92.3 91.9         Quarterly data 91.5 91.0 92.0 National accounts 94.6 90.2 93.3 Employment 92.9 96.9 93.4 Unemployment 92.5 95.4 93.8 Wages and earnings 91.6 92.5 93.8 Central government debt 80.7 84.4 83.8 Balance of payments 96.6 94.6 92.5 External debt2/ N.A. 82.9 93.7         Annual data 85.2 75.2 85.8 General government operations 86.2 77.0 80.0 International investment position 84.2 81.0 91.7 1/ Number of data categories released on the day announced in the ARC as a percentage of the total number of data categories to be released. A subscriber that fails to disseminate data on time is not automatically put into "non-observance" of the SDDS. When deviations from SDDS requirements occur, the IMF staff try 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 "non-observant" only when a note to that effect is posted on the DSBB. 2/ On March 31, 2004, 56 of the 57 subscribers had disseminated external debt data on their NSDP in accordance to the release date indicated in their ARC. (R): Revised data DSBB Enhancement Project During the first quarter, the Statistics Department has continued to work closely with other international organizations to standardize further the exchange of statistical information over the Internet.1 Further progress was made on establishing a common vocabulary for statistical metadata and a standard framework, or model, for describing metadata. As a result, the IMF is reconfiguring the existing query facilities and other aspects of the DSBB; users can expect to see further improvements in the near future. Automated Monitoring of Data Releases Since the end of March 2004, the monitoring of data releases is executed with the help of an automated system that takes daily snap-shots of SDDS subscribing countries' national summary data page (NSDP) and, for each data category, verifies if prescribed components, as identified in the corresponding base page metadata posted on the DSBB, are released in accordance with the release dates provided by subscribers in their ARC. In order for this process to function with optimal efficiency, SDDS subscribers have been invited to harmonize their NSDP structure and use of terms with a standardized format and glossary. Working Paper—Does SDDS Subscription Reduce Borrowing Costs? The IMF Working Paper No. WP/04/58 entitled "Does SDDS Subscription Reduce Borrowing Costs for Emerging Market Economies?" finds evidence of significant savings on financing costs accruing to SDDS subscribers. Based on detailed bond issuance data from 1990-2002 for several emerging market economies, the paper finds that countries benefited from a 75 basis point reduction in borrowing costs for bonds (denominated in U.S. dollar, yen, and euros) issued in the primary capital market following SDDS subscription. This result is in line with the findings of studies that focused on the secondary market.   1 This standardization work takes place under the auspices of the Statistical Data and Metadata Exchange (SDMX) initiative, which comprises the BIS, ECB, EUROSTAT, IMF, OECD, and the UN.