Use of Administrative Data Seminar on Developing a Programme on Integrated Statistics in support of the Implementation of the SNA for CARICOM countries 3-5 February 2014, Castries, Saint Lucia United Nations Statistics Division

Outline of presentation  Role of administrative sources in the statistical production process  Types of administrative data sources  Advantages of using administrative data sources  Challenges and quality issues  Common problems of using administrative sources  Links of administrative sources with the statistical business register in integrated data collections 2

Fundamental Principles of Official Statistics Principle 5. Data for statistical purposes may be drawn from all types of sources, be they statistical surveys or administrative records. Statistical agencies are to choose the source with regard to quality, timeliness, costs and the burden on respondents. 3

Components of the integrated business and international statistics programme cover all aspects of institutional arrangements and standard statistical production process:  governance and project management  statistical business registers and frames  integrated economic sampling and surveys  use of administrative data sources  data processing  data dissemination and communication Administrative sources are sources containing information which is not primarily collected for statistical purposes. Overview and definition 4

 Tax data (Value Added Tax (VAT), Business / profits tax, Personal income tax)  Social security data  Registration systems for businesses / property  Register of farms  Building permits  Licensing systems e.g. sale of restricted goods, import / export  Published business accounts  Internal accounting data  Data held by private businesses e.g. credit agencies, business analysts, utility companies, retailers with store cards etc. Types of administrative data sources (Examples) 5

 Administrative sources help to reconcile increasing demands for statistics with the increasing pressure on national statistical organizations to improve the efficiency of the statistical production process owing to: Lower cost and response burden Better coverage and frequency Cost  Statistical surveys and censuses are expensive and labour intensive  Although set-up costs of using administrative sources can be high, the running costs are usually significantly lower Advantages of using administrative sources 6

Response burden  Using administrative sources helps alleviate the burden on businesses and other respondents  Data suppliers don’t need to provide the same information for different data collections Coverage  Administrative sources offer almost complete coverage of target populations, have no survey errors, low non- response and give better small-area data. Frequency  Use of administrative sources allow statistics to be produced more frequently because of  lower cost and response burden  no need for survey design, questionnaire design, or follow up on non- response. Advantages – cont. 7

 Ensuring access to administrative sources Enabled by a legal framework Enabled by Service Level Agreements, contracts, informal agreements  Ensuring that technical frameworks are in place Mechanisms for data transfer (online, electronic media, paper), agreed file formats and metadata standards  Ensuring that administrative data are fit for use for statistical purposes Resolving common problems of using administrative sources (units, variables, classifications, inconsistency of sources, timeliness etc.) Challenges and quality issues 8

Units  Administrative units are often different from statistical units:  Legal entity or Tax unit vs. enterprise, establishment  Dwelling vs. household  Job vs. person  Administrative units need to be converted to meet statistical requirements  The use of a unique identifier will facilitate the integration of administrative records into the statistical system Common problems of using administrative sources 9

Variables  Know and document the differences between definitions used in administrative sources and statistical definitions  Quantify the impact of the difference to make adjustments during data processing Classifications  Administrative sources may use different classification rules or level of detail  Provide coding expertise, tools and training to administrative data suppliers  Tools are needed to convert codes from one classification to another Common problems – cont. 10

Inconsistency of sources  Data from different administrative sources may not be consistent due to:  Different definitions, classifications, time periods, missing data or errors  To resolve inconsistency, determine the priority of sources to be used for the variable  Multiple sources may help to validate data quality and provide feedback to determine accuracy of data Common problems – cont. 11

Timeliness  Data from administrative sources may relate to different time period or available with different time schedule than the needs of the statistical office  Such administrative data are not directly suitable for monthly or quarterly statistics  Statistical corrections or estimations needed using data from other reference periods  Adjust data and look for ways agreed with data supplier to reduce lags where possible Common problems – cont. 12

A statistical register can be a tool for integrating data from different sources.  An administrative source can be used directly as a sampling frame (simple, inexpensive solution)  One or more administrative sources can be used to construct a statistical register (statisticians have ownership and control: better data quality)  Administrative sources provide up to date information on changes for maintaining statistical registers Links with business register 13

Thank You