Austria has subscribed to the IMF’s Special Data Dissemination Standard Plus (SDDS Plus), with the OeNB in the coordinating role. In line with the IMF’s goal of improving global data transparency, subscribing countries commit to publishing key economic and financial data that are comprehensive and well defined with the prescribed periodicity and timeliness.
The implementation of the SDDS Plus obligates several Austrian institutions – such as Statistics Austria, the Austrian Institute of Economic Research (WIFO), the Association of Austrian Social Security Institutions, the Public Employment Service Austria (AMS), the Austrian Federal Ministry of Finance, Wiener Börse AG, the Austrian Treasury (OeBFA) and the OeNB – to compile a set of indicators as specified by the IMF. Apart from the provision of detailed information about statistical practices, or metadata, the SDDS Plus requires the timely publication of these data on a dedicated web page, the so-called National Summary Data Page. In addition, the IMF must be provided with an advance release calendar that contains the release dates for each prescribed data category in the upcoming four months.
The IMF regularly monitors subscribing countries’ SDDS Plus observance and publishes the results of its country-specific assessments in Annual Observance Reports.