The Special Data Dissemination Standard Plus Guide For Adherents And Users

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) launched the Data Standards Initiatives to enhance member countries’ data transparency and to promote their development of sound statistical systems. The need for data standards was highlighted by the financial crises of the mid-1990s, in which information deficiencies were seen to play a role. Under the Data Standards Initiatives, the IMF established the Special Data Dissemination Standard (SDDS) in 1996 to provide guidance to countries that have or seek access to capital markets to disseminate key data so that users in general, and financial market participants in particular, have adequate information to assess the economic situations of individual countries. In 1997, the IMF introduced under the initiatives the General Data Dissemination System (GDDS) to provide a framework for countries that aim to develop their statistical systems, within which they can work toward disseminating comprehensive and reliable data and, eventually, meet SDDS requirements. In February 2012, the IMF Executive Board approved the establishment of the SDDS Plus as a third tier of the Fund’s Data Standards Initiatives to address data gaps revealed during the global crisis. The SDDS Plus is open to all SDDS subscribers: those with systemically important financial sectors are encouraged to adhere early to the initiative.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) launched the Data Standards Initiatives to enhance member countries{u2019} data transparency and to promote their development of sound statistical systems. The need for data standards was highlighted by the financial crises of the mid-1990s, in which information deficiencies were seen to play a role. Under the Data Standards Initiatives, the IMF established the Special Data Dissemination Standard (SDDS) in 1996 to provide guidance to countries that have or seek access to capital markets to disseminate key data so that users in general, and financial market participants in particular, have adequate information to assess the economic situations of individual countries. In 1997, the IMF introduced under the initiatives the General Data Dissemination System (GDDS) to provide a framework for countries that aim to develop their statistical systems, within which they can work toward disseminating comprehensive and reliable data and, eventually, meet SDDS requirements. In February 2012, the IMF Executive Board approved the establishment of the SDDS Plus as a third tier of the Fund{u2019}s Data Standards Initiatives to address data gaps revealed during the global crisis. The SDDS Plus is open to all SDDS subscribers: those with systemically important financial sectors are encouraged to adhere early to the initiative.

The Special Data Dissemination Standard Plus (SDDS Plus) was established in October 2012 to reinforce and supplement the Fund’s Data Standards Initiatives and assist Fund members who decide to adhere to the SDDS Plus with regard to the publication of comprehensive, timely, accessible, and reliable economic and financial statistical data in a world of continuing economic and financial integration. The SDDS Plus also requires adherents to disseminate metadata to promote public knowledge and understanding of their compilation practices with respect to the required data categories. Following consultations conducted between Fund staff and members’ authorities of potential adherents to the SDDS Plus, it appeared necessary to introduce certain modifications to the SDDS Plus legal framework to facilitate adherence. These modifications are consistent with views expressed by Executive Directors in informal discussions with staff, and entail (i) extending the timeliness of three data categories and (ii) maintaining consistency with the principle underlying the SDDS Plus framework under which subscribers may chose to adopt new methodologies or continue to follow older ones. The Executive Board approved, on a lapse-of-time basis, the proposed decision in the paper. The existing rules governing the SDDS Plus are superseded by the new SDDS Plus legal text.

This edition of Monetary and Financial Statistics Manual and Compilation Guide (Manual) updates and merges into one volume methodological and practical aspects of the compilation process of monetary statistics. The Manual is aimed at compilers and users of monetary data, offering guidance for the collection and analytical presentation of monetary statistics. The Manual includes standardized report forms, providing countries with a tool for compiling and reporting harmonized data for the central bank, other depository corporations, and other financial corporations.

This paper presents an overview of the book Collapse and Revival: Understanding Global Recessions and Recoveries that tracks the global business cycle through the destruction of a global recession to the renewal of recovery, drawing on four major episodes during the past half century. This book defines the terms of global recessions and recoveries; documents their main features; describes the events that take place around these episodes; puts the latest global recession and ongoing recovery in perspective; and analyzes the interactions between fluctuations in the global growth and national growth over the different phases of the global cycle.

The International Monetary Fund’s Executive Board regularly reviews progress and developments under the Data Standards Initiatives. The last review—Eighth Review—undertaken in February 2012 introduced the Special Data Dissemination Standard (SDDS) Plus. In light of the long experience under the Data Standards Initiatives established in the mid-1990s, this review takes a longer term retrospective on what has been achieved so far, and highlights some of the lessons learned. What is evident is the contrast between the progress of countries with more advanced dissemination practices (SDDS and SDDS Plus), and the slow pace of improvement under the General Data Dissemination System (GDDS).

The External Debt Statistics: Guide for Compilers and Users (EDS Guide) contains updated global standards for the compilation, reporting, and analytical use of external debt statistics. The 2013 EDS Guide was prepared under the responsibility of the nine organizations in the Inter-Agency Task Force on Finance Statistics, in close consultation with national compilers of external debt, balance of payments, and international investment position statistics, and reflects the significant developments in international finance since the issuance of the 2003 EDS Guide. The new edition provides guidance on the concepts, definitions, and classifications of external debt data; the sources and techniques for compiling these data; and the analytical uses of these data.

The objective of the paper is to inform Executive Directors of recent work undertaken by the Statistics Department (STA) to further enhance data consistency. STA works to promote high quality statistics as essential pre-requisites for the formulation of appropriate macroeconomic and financial policies. Such work supports IMF surveillance and goals that are articulated in Board papers pertaining to Data Provision to the Fund for Surveillance Purposes; the G-20/IMFC Data Gaps Initiative; and the Fund’s Data Standards Initiatives. All these initiatives are motivated by the Executive Directors’ interest in better and more consistent data. An important element of STA’s work program is the project to improve crosssector data consistency. This project has focused on an initial set of countries that reflect the diverse nature of the IMF’s membership, and on selected data series. Data inconsistencies across macroeconomic datasets (financial, government, external, and national accounts statistics) have been found to exist for most countries, regardless of their size and level of development. Such inconsistencies may arise from a variety of reasons, including methodological differences and different data vintages. The project has been favorably received by member countries and has enhanced cooperation at both the international and national levels. Indeed, because a number of agencies within a country may be involved in compiling macroeconomic statistics, the project has encouraged strengthened national inter-agency cooperation to resolve inconsistencies. In spite of ongoing efforts, many inconsistencies persist, and new inconsistencies may sometimes arise. A significant initial finding is that countries may face challenges in improving cross-sector data consistency. In particular, member country resource constraints often limit the scope of their work in the short– and medium–term. Next steps. The recent work undertaken by STA has yielded significant positive results in a relatively brief period of time. Therefore, next steps involve expanding this work to eventually cover all countries, and monitoring inconsistencies on an ongoing basis so that they are not allowed to persist without follow-up with countries.