An Integrated Micro-data Approach to Trade & Business

Statistics

Challenges & Opportunites

steve.macfeely@unctad.org

Why does this matter…?

Importance of MNEs in Ireland

2010

Number of Enterprises

Number of Persons Engaged

Gross Value Added

Importance of Top 50 enterprises in Ireland

2010

Turnover Gross Value Added Gross Operating Surplus

Imports, Exports & Trade Balance (2012) - IRL

€ billion

€ billion

Foreign & Irish owned MNEs (2010) - IRL

1. Purpose

2. Understanding inter-connections

3. Challenges & Opportunities

4. Conclusion

Overview

• Improve understanding of trade by enterprise characteristics (TEC)– Goods & Services

– Life cycle analyses– Innovation & trade– Intra-Group trading– Nationality of ownership

• Improve National Accounts & BoP• Large Cases (reconcile Trade & Nat Acc/BoP)• Supply & Use Tables• Deflators

Section 1 – Purpose

Primary aim

• Reduce costs

• Reduce Burden (aggregate and individual)

• Increase information

• Exploit existing survey & administrative data

• Add value to existing datasets

Section 1 – Purpose

Secondary aim

Section 1 – Purpose

Let’s look at an example…Age profile of enterprises in Ireland

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%100%

02,0004,0006,0008,000

10,00012,00014,00016,000

1950

1955

1960

1965

1970

1975

1980

1985

1990

1995

2000

2005

2010

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

05

101520253035

1950

1957

1964

1971

1978

1985

1992

1999

2006

SMEs Large

Section 2 – Understanding interconnections

Interconnections

Structural

Business

Statistics

Innovation

CIS/BERD

ICT

FATS (outward)

Outsourcing

Business

Register

Balance

of

Payments

Merchantised

TradeProducer Prices

&

Deflators

Large Cases Unit (National Accounts)

Short-term

Business

Statistics

Business Demography

EnterpriseProfiling

Section 2 – Understanding interconnections

Interconnections (Trade & BoP)

Structural

Business

Statistics

Innovation

CIS/BERD

ICT

FATS (outward)

Outsourcing

Business

Register

Balance

of

Payments

Merchantised

TradeProducer Prices

&

Deflators

Large Cases Unit (National Accounts)

Short-term

Business

Statistics

Section 2 – Understanding interconnections

Interconnections (Trade & BoP)

Structural

Business

Statistics

Innovation

CIS/BERD

ICT

FATS (outward)

Outsourcing

Business

Register

Balance

of

Payments

Merchantised

TradeProducer Prices

&

Deflators

Large Cases Unit (National Accounts)

Short-term

Business

Statistics

Section 2 – Understanding interconnections

Interconnections (Trade & Prices)

Structural

Business

Statistics

Innovation

CIS/BERD

ICT

FATS (outward)

Outsourcing

Business

Register

Balance

of

Payments

Merchantised

TradeProducer Prices

&

Deflators

Large Cases Unit (National Accounts)

Short-term

Business

Statistics

Section 2 – Understanding interconnections

Interconnections (Trade & Prices)

Structural

Business

Statistics

Innovation

CIS/BERD

ICT

FATS (outward)

Outsourcing

Business

Register

Balance

of

Payments

Merchantised

TradeProducer Prices

&

Deflators

Large Cases Unit (National Accounts)

Short-term

Business

Statistics

Section 2 – Understanding interconnections

Interconnections (TEC)

Structural

Business

Statistics

Innovation

CIS/BERD

ICT

FATS (outward)

Outsourcing

Business

Register

Balance

of

Payments

Merchantised

TradeProducer Prices

&

Deflators

Large Cases Unit (National Accounts)

Short-term

Business

Statistics

Section 3 – Challenges & Opportunities

Challenges

• Multiple (non unique) identification units

• Valuation (price) not properly understood

• Mis-aligned sample design

• Communication (the burden issue)

Section 3 – Challenges & Opportunities

Opportunities

• Improve consistency across datasets

• Improve data infrastructure

• Improve design to maximise output & minimise burden

• Supplement stock data with flow data

• Build much richer data => information

Section 3 – Challenges, Conclusions & Discussion

Data Infrastructure

Location/

Building

PersonsBusiness

Section 4 – Conclusions

Conclusion

• Business Registers are the lynch pin

• Partial matching = partial answers

• Importance of data infrastructure not well understood

• Implementation is complex

Section 4 – Conclusions

Conclusion

Section 4 – Conclusions

Some References:

• MacFeely, S. & J. Dunne (2014), ‘Joining up Public Service Information – The rationale for a National Data Infrastructure’, Administration, Vol. 61, No. 4, pp. 93 – 107.

• MacFeely, S. & C. O’Brien (2008), ‘Family Business in the Irish Services Sector – Profile & Productivity’, Journal of the Social and Statistical Inquiry Society of Ireland, Vol. XXXVIII, pp. 1 - 37