Skip to main content

Exchange of economic data and data sharing

Review paper by Finland and UNECE
In-depth review of the exchange of economic data and data sharing (full version)
The CES Bureau carried out an in-depth review of the exchange and sharing of economic data in October 2016. The Bureau noted that the compiling national statistics in the globalized world is becoming increasingly challenging. The consideration of data flows and data sharing is timely also in the context of SDGs. Data sharing is very important for maintaining the quality of economic statistics. International data exchange is a prerequisite for statisticians to be able to depict economic reality, profile multinational enterprises and provide data on their activities. This concerns several domains of economic statistics, such as national accounts, business and trade statistics. Strong policy demand can create favourable conditions for statisticians to be able to exchange and share economic data to the extent necessary for producing high-quality economic statistics.
Outcome of the review
The CES Bureau recognized the importance of data exchange for maintaining the quality and relevance of economic statistics. In February 2017, the Bureau reviewed the terms of reference for a Task Force on Exchange and Sharing of Economic Data prepared by Finland and UNECE. In addition, the CES Bureau asked the Group of Experts on National Accounts to provide a platform for discussing the work on the exchange and sharing of economic data.
The 2017 CES plenary session will discuss the exchange and sharing of economic data to collect input for the UNECE Task Force work. The Task Force is expected to work in two phases, the first will focus on analyzing concrete cases of data exchange and the second phase will focus on the development of guidance, tools and principles for the exchange of economic data.
Related initiatives
The work may feed into further development of the Global Register of Enterprise Groups, undertaken by Eurostat and UNSD.
In addition, the initiatives of the European Central Bank (ECB), Eurostat, OECD and the G20 process have accumulated experience that can provide a good basis to further develop statistics on multinational enterprises. The work of the European Banking Authority (EBA) and ECB on international financial supervision is another source of examples how to exchange data internationally.
___________________________________
This page was last updated on: 21 March 2017