1 Data for Socio-Economic Research in Transition Countries 1-3 December 2005, Bishkek, Kyrgyz Republic Economic Policy Institutes Network Research Capacity Development Component Jacek Cukrowski MDG Advisor, UNDP Europe and the CIS Bratislava Regional Centre

2 Problems with statistical data in post- communist countries  Underdeveloped statistical capacities  Lack of data, quality, reliability, comparability  National definitions  Changing environment  Short time series

3 What kind of data?  Macroeconomic data  Inflation, GDP, growth rates, public sector deficit, etc.  Household data  Living standards, poverty, consumption, etc.  Enterprise data  Ownership structure, employment arrangements, etc.  Financial data  Stock market data  Social sector data  Poverty, enrolment, life expectancy, infant mortality, etc.

4 Sources of macro data  World Bank (  World Development Indicators database  World Bank webpage:  Country reports  EBRD  Transition Report (and its supplement)  National Statistical Offices  Webpages and publications  National Central Banks

5 Macro data Statistical Offices and Central Banks Source: Filer R. and Hanousek J. (2002) Data Watch: Research Data from Transition Economies, Journal of Economic Perspectives, Vol. 16, No.1

6 Sources of household data  Labor force surveys  Household budget survey  Consumer expenditure surveys  Living Standards Measurement Surveys  For details see:

7 Firms level data and financial data National sources  Filer R. and Hanousek J. (2002) Data Watch: Research Data from Transition Economies, Journal of Economic Perspectives, Vol. 16, No.1  See also tables in the Annex

8 Social sector data/poverty data  UNDP Human Development Reports (HDR)  Global (annual reports)   Regional (CA HDR, CIS HDR, MDG Report)    National HDR   World Bank survey data  WB report “Growth, Poverty a Inequality in Eastern Europe and the Former Soviet Union” (2005) Available at 0,,contentMDK: ~pagePK:146736~piPK:146830~theSitePK:258599,00.html

9 Other sources of social sector data  Children United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF), International Child Development Centre United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF), International Child Development Centre MONEE database: MONEE database: Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys (MICS): Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys (MICS):  Health World Health Organization World Health Organization Mortality database: Mortality database: Health for All database: Health for All database: Nutrition anthropometry database: Nutrition anthropometry database: Joint Programme on HIV/AIDS Joint Programme on HIV/AIDS

10 Other sources of social sector data  Gender World Bank World Bank World development indicators (gender statistics) World development indicators (gender statistics) United Nations Economic Commission for Europe United Nations Economic Commission for Europe  Ageing United Nations, Department for Economic and Social Affairs (Policies and Programmes on ageing) United Nations, Department for Economic and Social Affairs (Policies and Programmes on ageing)  Crime Interpol (International crime statistics) Interpol (International crime statistics) See also: Scott Wolf (2004) Tracking Human Development. UNDP, Bratislava

11 Reports and working papers  International organizations World Bank, IMF, UNDP, Asian Development Bank, OECD, UNCTAD, etc. World Bank, IMF, UNDP, Asian Development Bank, OECD, UNCTAD, etc.  Research institutes Studies and Analyses CASE Studies and Analyses CASE Center for Economic Research and Graduate Education (CERGE-EI) Center for Economic Research and Graduate Education (CERGE-EI)

12 Reports and working papers (Cont.)  EERC ( )  National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)   William Davidson Institute working papers   Center for Economic and Financial Research at New Economic School (CEFIR) 

13 Research papers databases  EBSCO  Academic Search Premier - The world’s largest academic multi-disciplinary database full text for nearly 4,700 publications, including full text for more than 3,600 peer-reviewed journals full text for nearly 4,700 publications, including full text for more than 3,600 peer-reviewed journals PDF backfiles to 1975 or further are available for well over one hundred journals PDF backfiles to 1975 or further are available for well over one hundred journals  JSTOR  Arts & Sciences I  JSTOR's first collection and includes many of the core research and society published journals in economics, history, political science, and sociology, as well as in other key fields in the humanities and social sciences  This collection also includes a selection of titles in the more science-oriented fields of ecology, mathematics, and statistics

14 EBSCO

15 JSTOR

16 Practical remarks (1)  Be careful with national data  Change in the definitions during transition  Data in particular countries during transition are not comparable  Differences in definitions between countries  Limited comparability  Example  Infant mortality rate  The definition of a live birth in the former Soviet Union differed from the international WHO definition  IN FSU a child was considered not to have a live birth if the infant was born before 28 th week of pregnancy with a weight of less than 1000 gm or a length below 35 cm

17 Practical remarks (2)  Be careful with international data  Change in the definitions and retrospective updates  UNDP HDR  World Bank data Example: Gini Index of consumption inequality WDI (2004) WDI (2005) * Correction Russia (2000) 45,62 34,8 -23% Armenia (1998) 37,92 32,08 -15% Uzbekistan (2000) 26,83 35,49 32% * WB report “Growth, Poverty a Inequality in Eastern Europe and the Former Soviet Union” (2005)

18 Thank you… United Nations Development Programme United Nations Development Programme Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States Bratislava Regional Centre Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States Bratislava Regional Centre Regional MDG web page Regional MDG web page MDGr.undp.sk MDGr.undp.sk

19 Annex

20 Households data Labor force surveys Source: Filer R. and Hanousek J. (2002) Data Watch: Research Data from Transition Economies, Journal of Economic Perspectives, Vol. 16, No.1

21 Households data Household surveys Source: Filer R. and Hanousek J. (2002) Data Watch: Research Data from Transition Economies, Journal of Economic Perspectives, Vol. 16, No.1

22 Sources of firm level data Source: Filer R. and Hanousek J. (2002) Data Watch: Research Data from Transition Economies, Journal of Economic Perspectives, Vol. 16, No.1

23 Stock market data Source: Filer R. and Hanousek J. (2002) Data Watch: Research Data from Transition Economies, Journal of Economic Perspectives, Vol. 16, No.1

24 Stock market data (cont.) Source: Filer R. and Hanousek J. (2002) Data Watch: Research Data from Transition Economies, Journal of Economic Perspectives, Vol. 16, No.1