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Business and Economics > Information Management

You are looking at 1 - 10 of 14 items for :

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Cover Selected Issues Papers
Public Procurement in South Africa: Issues and Reform Options
Mr. Alejandro Simone
and
Vybhavi Balasundharam
The 2015 Supply Chain Management Review lays out a sound agenda for procurement reform. The ongoing work on a new procurement bill and regulations are an important opportunity to spearhead procurement reform and step-up implementation. Several important reform aspects worth prioritizing are the simplification and standardization of aprocurement procedures, the standardization of transparency requirements through the adoption of the Open Contracting Data Standards, transitioning to a new e-procurement system that is linked to the government’s integrated financial management information system (IFMIS) and other systems, making preferential procurement more cost effective and goal oriented, and strengthening staff capacity to carry out procurement. Opportunities to centralize procurement should be further explored to leverage and develop limited capacity.
Keywords:
National Government Expenditure; Performance of Government; Public Goods; Public Procurement; Expenditure efficiency; procurement reform; reform option; e-procurement system; step-up implementation; procurement contract; Public sector; Integrated financial management information systems; Open data; Africa
Cover IMF Staff Country Reports
Peru: Technical Assistance Report-Consumer Price Index Mission
International Monetary Fund. Statistics Dept.
This technical assistance mission collaborated with the National Institute of Statistics and Informatics in Peru to incorporate big data methods into compilation of the consumer price index (CPI). This includes both prices ingested from the websites of large retailers and data recorded through in-store checkout scanners.
Keywords:
consumer price index mission; scanner data; staff team of the International Monetary Fund; World Bank staff; data provider; Consumer price indexes; Data collection; Data processing; Big data
Cover IMF Working Papers
Building Statistical Capacity in Fragile and Conflict-Affected States
Yasmin Alem
and
Jacinta Bernadette Shirakawa
Based on internal data, this paper finds that the capacity development program of the IMF’s Statistics Department has prioritized technical assistance and training to fragile and conflict-affected states. These interventions have yielded only slightly weaker results in fragile states than in other states. However, capacity development is constantly needed to make up for the dissipation of progress resulting from insufficient resources that fragile and conflict-affected states allocate to the statistical function, inadequate inter-agency coordination, and the pervasive impact of shocks exogenous to the statistical system. Greater coordination with other capacity development providers and within the IMF can help partially overcome low absorptive capacity in fragile states. Statistical capacity development is more effective when it is tailored to countries’ level of fragility.
Keywords:
Capacity Development; Statistics; Data; Fragile States; Sta CD mission; government finance statistics manual; Sta CD delivery; Sta CD spending; World Bank methodology assessment; Income; Government finance statistics; External sector statistics; Information and data management; Middle East and Central Asia; Pacific Islands; Middle East; West Africa; Africa; Central Africa; Global
Cover IMF Working Papers
Using the Google Places API and Google Trends Data to Develop High Frequency Indicators of Economic Activity
Mr. Paul A Austin
,
Mr. Marco Marini
,
Alberto Sanchez
,
Chima Simpson-Bell
, and
James Tebrake
As the pandemic heigthened policymakers’ demand for more frequent and timely indicators to assess economic activities, traditional data collection and compilation methods to produce official indicators are falling short—triggering stronger interest in real time data to provide early signals of turning points in economic activity. In this paper, we examine how data extracted from the Google Places API and Google Trends can be used to develop high frequency indicators aligned to the statistical concepts, classifications, and definitions used in producing official measures. The approach is illustrated by use of Google data-derived indicators that predict well the GDP trajectories of selected countries during the early stage of COVID-19. To this end, we developed a methodological toolkit for national compilers interested in using Google data to enhance the timeliness and frequency of economic indicators.
Keywords:
Reopening; COVID-19; High-Frequency Data; Business Register.; Google Trends data; Google data; high-frequency data; high frequency indicator; reopening Indicator; APIs; Big data; Manufacturing; Africa; Global
Cover IMF Research Bulletin
IMF Research Bulletin, Fall-Winter 2019
International Monetary Fund. Research Dept.
It has been two years since the trade tensions erupted and not only captured policymakers’ but also the research community’s attention. Research has quickly zoomed in on understanding trade war rhetoric, tariff implementation, and economic impacts. The first article in the December 2019 issue sheds light on the consequences of the recent trade barriers.
Keywords:
IRB; trade; debt measurement; exporter; policy session; firm; Mundell-Fleming Lecture; US-China trade tension; tariff factor; Exports; Tariffs; Infrastructure; Big data; Trade liberalization; Global; East Asia; North America; Sub-Saharan Africa; Europe; Africa; threshold ModelsHow; ship movement; TrajectoriesThe global financial crisis; Imports; Asia and Pacific
Cover IMF Research Bulletin
IMF Research Perspectives: Spring/Summer 2018
IMF Research Perspective (formerly published as IMF Research Bulletin) is a new, redesigned online newsletter covering updates on IMF research. In the inaugural issue of the newsletter, Hites Ahir interviews Valeria Cerra; and they discuss the economic environment 10 years after the global financial crisis. Research Summaries cover the rise of populism; economic reform; labor and technology; big data; and the relationship between happiness and productivity. Sweta C. Saxena was the guest editor for this inaugural issue.
Keywords:
IRB; big data wave; populism; product market reform; reform agenda; rise of populism; big data innovation; Big data; Global financial crisis of 2008-2009; Personal income; Output gap; Global; Europe
Cover Policy Papers
Overarching Strategy on Data and Statistics at the Fund in the Digital Age
International Monetary Fund. Strategy, Policy, &amp
and
Review Department
The first data and statistics strategy for the Fund comes at a critical time. A fast-changing data landscape, new data needs for evolving surveillance priorities, and persisting data weaknesses across the membership pose challenges and opportunities for the Fund and its members. The challenges emerging from the digital revolution include an unprecedented amount of new data and measurement questions on growth, productivity, inflation, and welfare. Newly available granular and high-frequency (big) data offer the potential for more timely detection of vulnerabilities. In the wake of the crisis, Fund surveillance requires greater cross-country data comparability; staff and authorities face the complexity of integrating new data sources and closing data gaps, while working to address the weaknesses noted by the IEO Report (Behind the Scenes with Data at the IMF) in 2016. The overarching strategy is to move toward an ecosystem of data and statistics that enables the Fund and its members to better meet the evolving data needs in a digital world. It integrates Fund-wide work streams on data provision to the Fund for surveillance purposes, international statistical standards, capacity development, and data management under a common institutional objective. It seeks seamless access and sharing of data within the Fund, enabling cloud-based data dissemination to support data provision by member countries (e.g., the “global data commons”), closing data gaps with new sources including Big Data, and improving assessments of data adequacy for surveillance to help better prioritize capacity development. The Fund also will work with policymakers to understand the implications of the digital economy and digital data for the macroeconomic statistics, including new measures of welfare beyond GDP.
Keywords:
PP; director; data landscape; consumer sentiment; Fund staff estimate; data commons; data weakness; big data experiment; Big data; Data dissemination; Special Data Dissemination Standard (SDDS); Global
Cover IMF Working Papers
The Adjustment to Commodity Price Shocks in Chile, Colombia, and Peru
Mr. Francisco Roch
This paper presents a comparative analysis of the macroeconomic adjustment in Chile, Colombia, and Peru to commodity terms-of-trade shocks. The study is done in two steps: (i) an analysis of the impulse responses of key macroeconomic variables to terms-of-trade shocks and (ii) an event study of the adjustment to the recent decline in commodity prices. The experiences of these countries highlight the importance of flexible exchange rates to help with the adjustment to lower commodity prices, and staying vigilant in addressing depreciation pressures on inflation through tightening monetary policies. On the fiscal front, evidence shows that greater fiscal space, like in Chile and Peru, gives more room for accommodating terms-of-trade shocks.
Keywords:
WP; commodity price; commodity; Chile; Peru; Commodity Prices; Fiscal Policy; Flexible Exchange Rates; Colombia; Peru t; commodity exporters' emerging economies; oil price decline; large commodity price shock; shock to commodity price; country-specific commodity price index; propagation mechanism of commodity price shock; contribution of commodity price; effects of commodity-price fluctuation; Colombia t; adjustment to commodity price; Commodity price shocks; Current account; Technology transfer; Current account deficits; Sub-Saharan Africa
Cover IMF Working Papers
Terms-of-Trade Cycles and External Adjustment
Gustavo Adler
,
Mr. Nicolas E Magud
, and
Alejandro M. Werner
We study the process of external adjustment to large terms-of-trade level shifts—identified with a Markov-switching approach—for a large set of countries during the period 1960–2015. We find that adjustment to these shocks is relatively fast. Current accounts experience, on average, a contemporaneous variation of only about ½ of the magnitude of the price shock—indicating a significant volume offset—and a full adjustment within 3–4 years. Dynamics are largely symmetric for terms-of-trade booms and busts, as well as for advanced and emerging market economies. External adjustment is driven primarily by offsetting shifts in domestic demand, as opposed to variations in output (also reflected in the response of import rather than export volumes), indicating a strong income channel at play. Exchange rate flexibility appears to have played an important buffering role during booms, but less so during busts; while international reserve holdings have been a key tool for smoothing the adjustment process.
Keywords:
WP; commodity exporter; current account balance; exchange rate regime; terms of trade; external adjustment; current account; commodity importer; imports volume; current account response; current account dynamics; commodity price swing; Technology transfer; Exchange rate arrangements; Adjustment process; Exchange rate flexibility; Global
Cover IMF Working Papers
Saving in Latin America and the Caribbean: Performance and Policies
Mr. Francesco Grigoli
,
Alexander Herman
, and
Klaus Schmidt-Hebbel
This paper analyzes saving patterns and determinants in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), including key policy variables and regimes. The review of previous empirical studies on LAC saving reveals contradictions and omissions. This paper presents empirical results of an extensive search of determinants of private and public saving rates, adding previously neglected variables (including different measures of key external prices and macroeconomic policy regimes), in linear form and in interactions with other saving determinants. It analyzes statistical differences in saving determinants between LAC and the rest of the world in a nested econometric framework, and discusses differences across three country subgroups within LAC. The results highlight commonalities and differences in saving behavior between LAC and other world regions, as well as within LAC, identifying the role of key policy variables and regimes.
Keywords:
WP; growth rate; LAC subgroup; private sector; consumption; private saving; public saving; Latin America; saving rate; LAC saving; saving effect; saving determinant; oil exporter; standard deviation; LAC oil exporter; discount factor raise saving; household saving; LAC dummy; Private savings; Technology transfer; Fiscal rules; Inflation targeting; Income; Middle East and Central Asia; Asia and Pacific; Europe