CARICOM TRADE IN SERVICES STATISTICS (CTIS)PROJECT June-December 2016 Regional Training Workshop November 21 to 25, 2016 by Lucilla Lewis, Lead Consultant

DATA SOURCES BOP DATA SOURCES ITRS Enterprise Surveys Migration and tourism statistics Household expenditure surveys eg. weights for consumer prices, and information on residents’ expenditure abroad Government and Central Banks eg. departure tax, landing and other port charges, expenditure on health and educational services provided and received Data from International Agencies for AID recipients, and data from partner countries

INTRACTABLE BUSINESSES Build up a relationship with population to be covered. Eg. by starting targeted radio and TV programmes. Organise one-on-one educational meetings Discuss with them why the information is needed and ask them for advise on what information can be given, in the context of what is required. If all fails resort to making informed estimates.

QUALITY CONTROL QUALITY OF DATA Estimates must always be revised in subsequent periods when new survey data becomes available As much as possible include estimates for missing reports on the basis of previous years’ reports, and growth rates for comparable establishments in the sector, and growth rate in the sector Reported data should be checked for internal consistency, consistency with data from related reports and with related data from other sources. THIS IS A VERY IMPORTANT STEP PARTICULARLY FOR NEW SURVEYS.

PR/Education Programmes and Sensitisation of Respondents Announcement of Survey in the local newspaper Holding of press conferences to present estimates Meeting with trade and professional associations to present sectoral analysis IMPORTANTLY, sensitising management of responding firms, and senior Government officials of their role as stakeholders in the entire statistical systems One-on-one informal training of individuals responsible for completing the questionnaire

Training and Resource Availability Ongoing training for existing staff Attachments for existing staff Orientation sessions for new staff Adequate staff complement and difficulty of retaining staff FULL AWARENESS/INVOLVEMENT OF STAFF OF THE STATISTICAL DEPARTMENT IN ASSIGNMENTS UNDERTAKEN UNDER TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE FROM REGIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL AGENCIES

THE BUSINESS REGISTER Universe of businesses in comprehensive business register Generate the register of FDIs Out of Register of FDIs generate register of FATS If necessary draw out a representative sample by stratifying businesses by size: number employed, sales revenue

SUMMARY OF APROACHES TO IMPROVE RESPONSE RATE AND COVERAGE FOR COMPILING STATISTICS ON INTERNATIONAL TRADE IN SERVICES Assignment of responsibility for maintaining register of businesses as an important function Commencement of new and specific enterprise surveys (eg. for Foreign Affiliates) Specific questionnaire/interview surveys (particularly for intractable and informal sector) Encouragement of formation of Trade /Industry and Professional Associations Sensitisation/training of respondents Improvement of estimation methods

Ensure that Legislative provisions are adequate with confidentiality clauses Reassure respondents of strict enforcement and adherence to confidentiality provisions in the legislation Maintain contact, have interviews/questionnaires and discussions with establishments below the survey threshold to get a feel for estimating the volume of their business, compared to that of respondents.

APPROACH FOR ENSURING THAT DATA IS AVAILABLE FOR USE BY STAKEHOLDERS MAJOR STAKEHOLDERS INCLUDE National Governments and their policy advisors Researchers Regional Organisations (CARICOM Secretariat among others) International Organisations Data providers others

APPROACH FOR ENSURING THAT DATA IS AVAILABLE FOR USE BY ALL STAKEHOLDERS Details of Plan Formalising of interagency relationship between the CSO, Central Bank. Agreeing on who will have responsibility for compiling what and by when, and assigning specific persons at each institution Agreeing on a date to present the compiled statistics to key stakeholders Agreeing on a targeted date for publishing the statistics on trade in services compiled

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