Vladimir Markhonko United Nations Statistics Division

1. Regional Workshop for African Countries on Compilation of Basic Economic StatisticsPretoria, 23-26 July 2007Administrative Data and their Use in Economic Statistics Vladimir Markhonko United Nations Statistics Division

2. Contents • Definitions • Advantages of using administrative data • Common problems • Quality of administrative data • Using administrative data in practice • Conclusions Vladimir Markhonko 12/7/2007

3. Definition of administrative data narrow definition wider definition Vladimir Markhonko 12/7/2007

4. Narrow Definition of Administrative Data Data available in records of governmental agencies administering various governmental programmes Examples: tax records, customs declarations, social security records Vladimir Markhonko 12/7/2007

5. Wider Definition of Administrative DataData available in records of Governmental agencies +Organizations operating in private sector Vladimir Markhonko 12/7/2007

6. Administrative sources of data are sources containing information which is not primarily collected for statistical purposes. Vladimir Markhonko 12/7/2007

7. Reasons for a wider definition • Privatisation of some governmental functions • Growth of private sector organizations collecting statistically significant data • User interest in new types of data which might not be collected by NSOs • Cost efficiency Vladimir Markhonko 12/7/2007

8. Benefits of Administrative Data • Cost • Surveys / censuses are expensive, administrative data are often “free” • Response burden • Reduced burden on data suppliers • Statistics can be compiled more frequently with no extra burden Vladimir Markhonko 12/7/2007

9. Coverage • Full coverage of target population • No survey errors and lower non-response • Better small-area data • Timeliness • can be improved for some types of data but not for all • Public image • National statistical office is perceived as more efficient both in terms of cutting costs and provision of better data Vladimir Markhonko 12/7/2007

10. An example: population census costs for some European countries in 2000-2001 • UK - €6.2 per person • Austria - €6.9 per person • Finland - €0.2 per person • due to extensive use of administrative data Source: Eurostat – Documentation of the 2000 round of population and Housing censuses in the EU, EFTA and Candidate Countries; Table 22 Vladimir Markhonko 12/7/2007

11. Typical problems • Administrative units do not always coincide with statistical units • Need to perform data conversion • Difficulty in profiling of the more complex cases • Gives a better understanding of complex business structures • Expensive and needs trained staff Vladimir Markhonko 12/7/2007

12. Different definitions and classifications • Conversion tables needed for different classifications • Administrative and statistical priorities are often different • Timeliness • Data may arrive too late • Data relate to a different time period Vladimir Markhonko 12/7/2007

13. Change management • Risk of changes in government policy, thresholds, definitions, coverage etc. • Need contingency plans • Data from multiple sources • Matching / linking issues • Data conflicts – priority rules Vladimir Markhonko 12/7/2007

14. Quality of Administrative Data • Administrative data will be better than survey data in some aspects but not in others • It is important to look at overall quality • Do the data quality meet the needs of users? Vladimir Markhonko 12/7/2007

15. Three Aspects of Quality • Quality of incoming data • Quality of processing(matching, merging, ...) • Quality of outputs - likely to be different to survey based outputs, but are they better? Vladimir Markhonko 12/7/2007

16. Quality Measurement • How to measure the quality of data from administrative sources? • Comparing sources • Quality check surveys • Knowledge of source (metadata) • Quality reports Vladimir Markhonko 12/7/2007

17. Using Administrative Data • Conversion to statistical concepts and definitions • Linking / Matching • Exact Matching - linking records from two or more sources, often using common identifiers – unique identifier of units • Probabilistic Matching - determining the probability that records from different sources should match, using a combination of variables Vladimir Markhonko 12/7/2007

18. Shift in paradigm: • Some statistical offices prefer first to create a database populated with administrative data and use statistical surveys only to fill the gaps • Implies a high degree of trust in quality of administrative data Vladimir Markhonko 12/7/2007

19. Conclusions • Administrative sources should be defined in the widest sense • There are many benefits in using administrative data, particularly the reduced costs of data and better coverage • There are problems when using administrative data, but an acceptable solution usually can be found Vladimir Markhonko 12/7/2007

20. Most problems can be solved by effective planning and detailed knowledge of the source • The benefits are greater than the problems encountered • UNSD plans to prepare a Handbook on Use of Administrative Data and put good country practices on its website. Vladimir Markhonko 12/7/2007

21. Thank you for your attention. Vladimir Markhonko 12/7/2007