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© 2001 International Monetary Fund

October 2001

IMF Country Report No. 01/194

Republic of Estonia: Report on Observance of Standards and Codes—Data Module; Response by the Authorities; and Detailed Assessments Using the Data Quality Assessment Framework

This Report on the Observance of Standards and Codes on Data Module for Estonia was prepared by a staff team of the International Monetary Fund as background documentation for the periodic consultation with the member country. It is based on the information available at the time it was completed on October 19, 2001. The views expressed in this document are those of the staff team and do not necessary reflect the views of the government of Estonia or the Executive Board of the IMF.

The Response by the Authorities on this report, and the Detailed Assessments Using the Data Quality Assessment Framework (DQAF) are also included.

The policy of publication of staff reports and other documents by the IMF allows for the deletion of market-sensitive information:

To assist the IMF in evaluating the publication policy, reader comments are invited and may be sent by e-mail to publicationpolicy@imf.org.

International Monetary Fund

Washington, D.C.

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INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND

REPUBLIC OF ESTONIA

Report on the Observance of Standards and Codes (ROSC)—Data Module

Prepared by the Statistics Department

Approved by Carol S. Carson and John Odling-Smee

October 19, 2001

Contents

• Acronyms

• Executive Summary

• I. Introduction

• II. Data Dissemination Practices and the SDDS

  • A. Overview of the SDDS

  • B. Current Dissemination Practices

    • Data Dimension: Coverage, Periodicity, and Timeliness

    • Access Dimension

    • Integrity Dimension

    • Quality Dimension

    • Monitoring of Data and Access Dimensions

• III. Summary Assessment of Data Quality

  • A. The Framework for Assessing Data Quality

  • B. Summary Findings

    • Prerequisites of Quality

    • Integrity

    • Methodological Soundness

    • Accuracy and Reliability

    • Serviceability

    • Accessibility

• IV. Users’ Views

• V. Fund Staff Proposals

  • National Accounts

  • Consumer Price Index

  • Balance of Payments Statistics

  • Government Finance Statistics

  • Monetary Statistics

• Box

• 1. Dimensions and Elements of the Special Data Dissemination Standard (SDDS)

• Text Tables

• Table 1. Overview of Current Practices Regarding Coverage, Periodicity, and Timeliness of Data Compared to the SDDS

• Table 2.1. National Accounts

• Table 2.2. Consumer Price Index

• Table 2.3. Balance of Payments Statistics

• Table 2.4. Government Finance Statistics

• Table 2.5. Monetary Statistics

Acronyms

Executive Summary

This report is a summary assessment of Estonia’s data practices against the IMF’s Special Data Dissemination Standard (SDDS), complemented by an in-depth assessment of the dimensions of data quality that underlie the national accounts, consumer prices, government finance, monetary, and balance of payments statistics. This assessment was carried out by a mission that visited Tallinn during May 10-18, 2001¹.

The quality of Estonia’s data is generally good. The authorities follow an open dissemination policy, and make freely available a wide variety of data and metadata through official publications, press releases, and on the Internet. The authorities are working hard to meet the statistical requirements of European Union (EU) membership, and are making good progress. The mission noted that the authorities plan to address most of the issues noted in the ROSC in the context of their multi-year program to meet the requirements of EU membership. It is expected that a number of these issues will be addressed in 2002.

The general conclusions of the mission were:

• Estonia meets all the elements of the SDDS that are used by the IMF in designating observance—coverage, periodicity, and timeliness and the provision of advance release calendars.

• The legal and institutional framework generally supports the production and dissemination of high quality statistics. Some interagency coordination issues need to be addressed. Quality awareness is high. Resources are generally adequate, but are constrained in some areas, particularly for fiscal data.

• All agencies evidence professionalism, are transparent in their practices and policies, and provide ethical guidelines to their staffs.

• International standards and guidelines are generally followed. However, the quality of fiscal and monetary data is constrained by incomplete coverage. In view of Estonia’s preparations for EU accession, an important and urgent requirement is to develop a definition of general government that is consistent with the European System of Accounts, 1995.

• Accuracy and reliability are generally good, but could be improved in a few areas of national accounts and in general government data by strengthening source data and improving statistical techniques.

• The datasets assessed generally meet users’ needs. However, there are some areas where consistency with other datasets needs attention, particularly for fiscal data.

• Accessibility of data, metadata, and assistance to data users is high.

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INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND

REPUBLIC OF ESTONIA

Report on the Observance of Standards and Codes (ROSC)—Data Module: Response by the Authorities

October 19, 2001

Contents

• I. General Remarks

• II. Action Plan from the Estonian Authorities on Fund Staff Proposals

  • A. National Accounts (Annual and Quarterly)

  • B. Consumer Price Statistics

  • C. Balance of Payments Statistics

  • D. Government Finance Statistics

  • E. Monetary Statistics

Front Matter Page

INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND

REPUBLIC OF ESTONIA

Report on the Observance of Standards and Codes (ROSC)—Data Module Detailed Assessments Using the Data Quality Assessment Framework

Prepared by the Statistics Department

Approved by Carol S. Carson and John Odling-Smee

October 19, 2001

Contents

• I. National Accounts (Annual and Quarterly)

• II. Consumer Price Index

• III. Balance of Payments Statistics

• IV. Government Finance Statistics

• V. Monetary Statistics

• Appendix

• I. Data Quality Assessment Framework—Generic Framework (March 2001)