1. Inter-Agency Group on Economic and Financial Statistics (IAG) G-20 Data Gaps Initiative
Martine Durand, Director, OECD Statistics Directorate
Side Event at the 43rd Session of the United Nations Statistical Commission New York – 29 February 2012

2. IAG G-20 Data Gaps Initiative Communication of Official Statistics
Recommendation 20: G20 Aggregates for a key set of indicators
Quarterly GDP (volume) first G20 aggregate to be compiled
Number of technical and statistical issues
Recommendation 20 is mostly about the Principle Global Indicators (PGI) website maintained by the IMF, the G20 aggregates work is hosted under this recommendation. The OECD provides data directly to the PGI via is main dissemination tool (OECD.Stat) and this has been very successful. Providing G20 aggregates is seen as a first step towards World Aggregates which are lacking at the infra-annual frequency. For example, for GDP, the G20 aggregate is about 85% of the World Total. The demand for world and G20 aggregates in recent financial and economic times has become even more pressing with developments global in nature. This was seen clearly from the spread of the financial crisis with the United States starting the financial contagion which then through globalisation of the world’s economic markets spread through to the real sector. The need for world aggregates of key economic variables is apparent.
The OECD is well placed to compile these aggregates due to its established methodology and long history of compiling these types of aggregates (e.g. OECD-Total) on a monthly and quarterly basis. Over this time the OECD has established and put in place systems that undertake the compilation of aggregates in real-time using dynamic updating of weights and data. These systems are well documented and metadata is available on all aggregates compiled and disseminated.
“Gross Domestic Product, volume, seasonally adjusted, quarterly growth on previous period” is the target series. GDP is considered as the most needed aggregate and also the most achievable considering data gaps from some of the bigger members in other statistical areas. Additionally, the OECD currently collects quarterly GDP data for all countries, with the exception of Saudi Arabia who at present don’t compile a measure quarterly.
The compilation of such an aggregate is not without the usual statistical issues. In particular China has only just started compiling quarterly GDP volume estimates (2011Q1), and at present only provides quarterly growth estimates while Saudi Arabia only compiles annual data. It is hoped that by identifying these data gaps, it will provide a impetus for countries to fill them.

3. Quaterly G20 GDP News Release
Simultaneous one-off G20 GDP News Release across all participating IAG members on 14 March
News Release will have same content while adhering to individual dissemination standards
After first release, OECD will ensure a regular quarterly News Release at t+70
G20 GDP sponsored by 7 International Organisations – a visible milestone of cooperation
On 14 March [to be confirmed] a G20 GDP News Release will be issued, simultaneously, by 5 IAG members (BIS and World Bank will not participate). This will be a big event in the progress of the IAG in addressing the Data Gaps Initiative and showing how International Organisations can work together in the international arena. It will also go some way in addressing the current economic situation from a GDP standpoint and how the world economy has faired since the recession of 2008.
Each participating agency will issue a New Release that meets its own international distribution policies while maintaining a common look and feel. The News Release will go out to full media distribution lists and is expected to be picked up by the major commercial data providers such as Bloomberg, Reuters, etc. The major economies will also be informed of the upcoming release of aggregate data.
The responsibility for the regular G20 GDP News Release will be the OECD’s, and this will in the future be issued quarterly at 70 days after the reference period. The OECD will ensure that the high profile is maintained while streamlining it into their quarterly national accounts programme. Full links will be maintained with the PGI website and with any other IAG member who wants to distribute the data. Of course, the OECD takes responsibility for the data quality, and the content of the future News Releases.
Issuing such an important statistics New Release, coordinated among seven international organisations, is truly a very positive sign that this type of cooperation can be done and is a visible sign of progress in the data gaps initiative. It shows what can be achieved and is also a start towards the original idea of having a set of key indictors (CPI, unemployment, trade, etc) at the aggregate level to provide a global picture of the world economy.