Other Statistical Publications

Quantitative information in general and on the structure and the state of the economy in particular is gaining in importance. Although the national statistical institutes (NSIs) are the main suppliers of this kind of information they cannot cover all the national as well as international needs alone, as the central banks (NCBs) also produce and hold important information, especially about the financial sector. With the rapidly growing volumes of financial flows – withing an economy as well as across borders – the relevance of these data produced by the central banks is also growing. There is a complementarity between the data produced by the NSIs and the NCBs. This creates a need for cooperation and coordination between these institutions on a national level, as well as on a European or international level. As the old fences between the markets disappear, the fences between the statistics generating institutions have to disappear too in order to allow for the creation of a coherent statistical system.

NSIs and NCBs together have to supply a coherent and consistent core diagnosis of the -national or European – economy, based on the harmonized framework of the ESA 95 (or SNA 93). The division of labor should be based on the respective comparative advantages. The two institutions should work in a complementary way, avoiding any redundancies. Around this set of core information there can be national "satellite statistics" for more specific markets, issues or questions, developed   in a decentralized and not necessarily (internationally) harmonized way.

The general trend towards more accountability of all public institutions increasingly leads to cost pressures and resource constraints. The NCBs as well as the NSIs have to show the public that they are efficient managers of resources. This requires first of all an efficient division of labor, with the NSIs focussing on the real economy and the NCBs on the financial side. Mutual trust is then a crucial precondition for such a partnership, as well as a clear definition of the respective competences. But there is also the need for a legal framework that allows and even encourages but does not hamper such cooperation. 

Within each institution, efficiency has to reign on both the input as well as the output sides. This implies that the relevant information has to be gathered in the least costly way, and the information received has to be processed efficiently and put to as many uses as possible. This requires close cooperation with the respondents, i.e. a good knowledge about what kind of relevant information is already available, for instance in the companies’ accounting systems. 

For the cooperation between NSIs and NCBs to work smoothly, a formal framework needs to be created that specifies the respective duties and responsibilities. It needs to be revisited and – if necessary – updated on a regular basis.

Sometimes the shortest way from the NCB to the NSI, or vice versa, might be via an international institution, like the ECB or the IMF. Their demands for coherent and consistent national data   increase the need for cooperation on a national level.

Cooperation between the NSIs and the NCBs can be informal or formalized. As far as Austria is concerned, after years of rather strained relations informal cooperation has been increasing for some time. Formal cooperation, however, has been rather limited, especially compared with the situation in many other European countries. With January 1, 2000 a new Statistics Act came into force, creating the basis also for an extended formal cooperation. Its main intentions are to redefine the role of official statistics in Austria, to define the main principles of statistical work, to implement enlarged requirements for publishing the results of statistical work, to reduce the burden on the respondents, to strengthen the data protection (privacy) rules, as well as to give the NSI a completely new legal and organizational form. 

A central role in the area of formal cooperation is being played by the Statistical Council, a body that brings together statistical experts from different government ministries, public organizations, social partners as well as the central bank. Among other tasks, it is intended to further the coordination between the different   institution’s statistical activities.

This Act also   allows the NSI to outsource part of its activities or to enter into contracts with other statistics providers. This forms a useful basis for a redefinition of the formal cooperation between the NSI (Statistik Austria) and the Oesterreichische Nationalbank (OeNB). Both institutions have been in talks to prepare a framework agreement (Memorandum of Understanding) for   cooperation, establishing the basic rules and responsibilities. This MoU will comprise the guiding principles of cooperation while the detailled definition of the mutual commitments in the different statistical areas will be specified in separate Annexes to the MoU. 

It is intended that the main areas of shared or common responsibility will be the National Accounts, the Balance of Payments, and the company register. 

The OeNB will contribute the Financial Accounts to the National Accounts, while Statistik Austria will concentrate on the real side.

In the area of balance of payments in the present arrangement the OeNB is responsible for the balance of payments compilation, however, using the trade data supplied by Statistik Austria. For the future we see as a logical development to transfer the responsibility for the services and the capital account to the NSI and for the Central Bank to concentrate on the Financial Account of the BoP plus the investment income.

In the area of the development of an Austrian company register we see the main responsibility with Statistik Austria, however, the OeNB can add a lot of input on the cross-border activities of the companies. Especially when moving to a survey and direct reporting based BoP collection system, the OeNB will need a reliable and up-to-date company register with all the information required for representative surveys (e.g. for FDIs). In addition, a reliable and complete register helps to reduce the reporting burden on the respondents, as many of the questions can be answered directly from the registers. 

The cooperation between the two institutions will, however,   not be limited to these areas and will develop further over time. We are eager to profit from the experiences of other countries in this area.