1. Researchers’ Usage of Microdata The example of Statistics Finland Advanced presentation Consultation Mission on Promoting the activity and Creating a positive image of the Ukrainian State Statistical bodies Kiev, Ukraine 9 – 12 December 2014 Petteri Baer, Marketing Manager, Statistics Finland Courtesy to Ms Satu Nurmi & Ms Marianne Johnson, Statistics Finland

2. Contents Remember confidentiality issues! Main tasks of the Research Services unit at Statistics Finland Charges for the value added services Some additional services may be needed Datasets, registers and linking microdata Communication and confidentiality protection in the Remote access system Plans for a National Remote Access System Recent amendments in the new Statistics Act of 2013 Petteri BaerKiev 9-12 December 2014 2

3. Remember! Guidelines in the UN Fundamental Principles (1) Paragraph 6. in the “Fundamental Principles”: “6. Confidentiality. Individual data collected by statistical agencies for statistical compilation, whether they refer to natural or legal persons, are to be strictly confidential and used exclusively for statistical purposes.” Kiev 9-12 December 2014 3Petteri Baer

4. Remember! Guidelines in the UN Fundamental Principles (2)  An good practical guide for a more extensive explanation and interpretation what this inclines is given in the UNECE material  “How Should a Modern National System of Official Statistics Look? - The relationship between international principles on systems of official statistics and national statistical legislation”,  It is a UNECE material, available in English and in Russian at  http://www.unece.org/fileadmin/DAM/stats/doc uments/applyprinciples.e.pdf http://www.unece.org/fileadmin/DAM/stats/doc uments/applyprinciples.e.pdf  http://www.unece.org/fileadmin/DAM/stats/doc uments/applyprinciples.r.pdf http://www.unece.org/fileadmin/DAM/stats/doc uments/applyprinciples.r.pdf Petteri BaerKiev 9-12 December 2014 4

5. At Statistics Finland… Research Services for microdata (1) The main tasks of the Research Services are To produce both ready-made data and tailored data sets for researchers To participate in development work and research projects To develop and maintain a microsimulation model for income transfers and taxation The prices for the microdata services can be found at the web site http://tilastokeskus.fi/tup/hinnat/tutkimuspalvelut_en.html http://tilastokeskus.fi/tup/hinnat/tutkimuspalvelut_en.html The Research services are financed partly as a chargeable service, i.e. the customers and partly from the budget of Statistics Finland. Costs for data and technical guidance are included in the service prices Petteri BaerKiev 9-12 December 2014 5

6. Charges for the value added services (1) Research Services for microdata handle user licence requests for unit level data based on register and survey data of Statistics Finland As mentioned, the services which are provided by the Research Services for microdata at Statistics Finland are (only) partially financed by the State budget. For the customers the charges are the following: Charges for ready-made datasets for remote access use EUR 300 – 600, depending of the volume of the dataset Project-specific use charge of the remote access EUR 1 500 per year for one researcher, or EUR 200 per month EUR 2 000 per year for two researchers EUR 2 500 per year for four researchers Petteri BaerKiev 9-12 December 2014 6

7. Charges for the value added services (2) Project-specific use charge of the remote access (cont.) EUR 4 000 per year for 5 – 9 researchers For more than 9 researchers a special price is negotiated separately Installation cost of the remote access software to be used by an individual researcher EUR 300 Renting a workstation in Statistics Finland’s Research Laboratory (in Helsinki) EUR 70 per day Use charge for the Microsimulation Model EUR 1 300 per user per year Miscellaneous services of the Research Service Unit EUR 110 per hour Petteri BaerKiev 9-12 December 2014 7

8. For some researchers or assignments additional services may be needed Interview and Survey services The price for a data collection made by Statistics Finland's interview and survey services is comprised of the costs of the collecting and designing of the content of the data, costs of the fieldwork stage of the data collecting, and the costs of the processing and editing of the data The most important factors affecting the costs of the different survey implementation modes are always discussed in advance, after which preliminary cost estimates can be given for them. The final cost estimate is made after establishing the implementation alternative that suits the customer's needs and the survey details. Methodological services Hourly charging is applied varying between EUR 80 to 140 depending on the nature of assignment. Monthly charging may also be applied in large projects. Petteri BaerKiev 9-12 December 2014 8

9. Challenges for the Research Services Increased demand of comprehensive micro-level databases for research purposes during the last years Complaints about long delivery times, mainly from researchers Also some feedback about too small samples and too strict data protection All of our development work aims at satisfying the customers Customers need to know better the sources and variables, possibilities and restrictions to get data, prices, delivery times Customers prefer to have the services provided from one service point as opposite to having multiple contact persons in different statistical units of Statistics Finland Petteri BaerKiev 9-12 December 2014 9

10. About the datasets provided Rich linkable administrative register databases and survey data are goldmines for e.g. empirical economic and health analysis Long time series based on register data Most of the enterprise-level annual microdata sets are ready-made and easily available for research purposes Tailor-made datasets take a longer time to produce and they also cost more due to substantial amounts of manual work. Tailor-made sets are normally based on register data related to persons, households and housing or interviewed data related to living conditions etc. All data sets sent to the outside researchers are mutually linkable by encrypted unit identifiers (personal identification number, enterprise number, establishment number) and can also be linked to researchers’ own data or data sets from other organisations Petteri BaerKiev 9-12 December 2014 10

11. Basic source material – Statistical basic registers Petteri BaerKiev 9-12 December 2014 11

12. The basic units of register-based statistical system 1 Building code 2 Domicile code 3 Enterprise number 4 Establishment number 5 Address Petteri BaerKiev 9-12 December 2014 12

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16. The main readymade datasets available at the Research Services of Statistics Finland ENTERPRISE LEVEL DATA Business Register and Group Register Financial Statements panel R&D panel ICT panel Patent Register Innovation Surveys Business Aid Database ESTABLISHMENT LEVEL DATA Business Register Industrial Statistics panel Technology Survey Commodity Statistics Employment Statistics panel (labour characteristics) Worker Flow panel LINKED EMPLOYER-EMPLOYEE DATA Finnish Longitudinal Employer-Employee Data (FLEED) Structure of Earnings Survey Petteri BaerKiev 9-12 December 2014 16

17. Employment Statistics (Individual) Industrial Statistics (Establishment) aggregation ICT Survey Financial Statements Statistics R&D Survey Innovation Survey analysis Background information on individuals is aggregated to establishment level. Data from different sources can be linked through encrypted establishment, enterprise or personal identifiers. An example of linking data sets Structure of earnings survey Petteri BaerKiev 9-12 December 2014 17

18. Finnish Longitudinal Employer-Employee Data (FLEED) Unique database based on register data History and characteristics of the whole working age population of Finland over the period 1988 - 2011 Links to the employer information at the end of each year Information on e.g., sex, age, nationality, main type of activity, family, housing, education, income (wages and social security benefits), employment and unemployment spells Protected sample of around 1,2 million persons can be used via remote access Links to spouses, children and parents can be added Petteri BaerKiev 9-12 December 2014 18

19. Structure of Earnings Survey (SES) Academic researchers are very interested in obtaining more detailed information on individual level earnings SES data includes information on hourly, monthly and annual earnings (including e.g., overtime pay, working hour supplements, benefits in kind and performance-based bonuses) and background information on persons and their employers SES data can be linked to FLEED data and data on enterprises So far SES-data is used in projects concerning earnings equality between men and women, segregation and earnings comparisons between labour market sectors For better service, we are developing a harmonised time series from all Structure of Earnings data since 1995 Petteri BaerKiev 9-12 December 2014 19

20. (I) Find out about available data. Statistics Finland web-pages, The Information Centre for Register reasearch Yes, de-identified Need for research data Permission granted? (III)Apply for permission from Statistics Finland, pledge of secrecy document signed by all applicants a)Make changes to application/research proposal (IV) Order the data,Sign contract, including price and timetable (V) Receive data and metadata, Check data (VI) Analyse the data, Reserch outcome Feedback to Statistics Finland (research document) (VII) Destroy data Project ends (II) Outline a research proposal no b) Abandon the project c) Appeal against the decision Research project ends Letter of appeal (different process) Notification to Statistics Finland 12.12.2014Marianne Johnson Statistics Finland 20 Yes, anonymizied (IV) Order the data Sign contract, including price and timetable, Discussions on anonymization procedures Institution has remote access agreement (IVa) Institution signs remote access contract, Fills out data protection statement no yes no (V) Data and metadata in research project folder in remote access system. Receive personal password (VIa) Analyse the data, send output for checking (VIb) Output checked, Reserch outcome, (VII) Access to folder terminated

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23.  Statistics Finland’s remote access system (operating)  2009-2010 MIDRAS (Microdata Remote Acces System) survey Funded by Ministry of Education and Culture  Vision: Through national remote access system the microdata of public authorities are easily, safely, cost-effectively and securily usable for research work  Proposal for a national project Finnish Microdata Access Services  Submitted by Statistics Finland and the National Archives, was accepted as a National Research Infrastructure.  Funding for planning work in 2014 granted; 2015  still ??  Planned microdata access services for researchers:  Remote Access system  Centralized digital research data permit application service  Metadata catalogue  Information and support service Petteri Baer Plans for a National Remote Access System Kiev 9-12 December 2014 23

24. Data exchange through national online-system Register organisation Microdata Online-system Research project Researchers Interfac e Petteri BaerKiev 9-12 December 2014 24

25. MIDRAS-remote access system Services that require permit Remote desktop for analysing data (programs and tools) Separated server space for data and metadata Output service for results, Input service for researcher’s data Services that require permit Remote desktop for analysing data (programs and tools) Separated server space for data and metadata Output service for results, Input service for researcher’s data Services that require registration Centralized digital permit application service Services that require registration Centralized digital permit application service Public services Data catalogue Helpdesk for research and tuition Public services Data catalogue Helpdesk for research and tuition Interface service for data and meta data, Administration services for user rights Organiza -tion A Organiza -tion C Organiza -tion E - Commonly agreed metadata standards – Data warehouse - Archive of multiple user files Researcher Organiza -tion B Organiza -tion D Pseudonymization Petteri BaerKiev 9-12 December 2014 25

26. The recent amendments of the Statistics Act of Finland in 2013 A Working group was appointed by Ministry of Finance in 2010 In December 2011 a draft for amendments of the Statistics Act Approved by the Parliament in May 2013, into force in September 2013 The goals of the amendments were the following To harmonize the national legislation on statistics with the new Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on European statistics To extend the use of the data collected for statistical purposes in scientific studies and statistical surveys on social conditions Researchers can now obtain data on individuals even though they possibly can be identified indirectly. But certainly not directly Data cannot include direct identifiers Petteri BaerKiev 9-12 December 2014 26

27. More detailed information can be obtained at tutkijapalvelut@stat.fi marianne.johnson@stat.fi THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION petteri.baer@stat.fi Petteri BaerKiev 9-12 December 2014 27