Front Matter Page
© 2003 International Monetary Fund
March 2003
IMF Country Report No. 03/86
Azerbaijan Republic: Report on Observance of Standards and Codes—Data Module; Response by the Authorities; and Detailed Assessment Using Data Quality Assessment Framework
This Report on the Observance of Standards and Codes—Data Module for the Azerbaijan Republic 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 March 20, 2003. The views expressed in this document are those of the staff team and do not necessarily reflect the views of the government of the Azerbaijan Republic or the Executive Board of the IMF.
The response by the Authorities on this report, and the Detailed Assessment Using the Data Quality Assessment Framework (DQAF) are also included.
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Front Matter Page
INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND
AZERBAIJAN REPUBLIC
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
March 20, 2003
Contents
Acronyms
Executive Summary
I. Introduction
II. Data Dissemination Practices and General Data Dissemination System
III. Summary Assessment of Data Quality
Prerequisites of quality
Integrity
Methodological soundness
Accuracy and reliability
Serviceability
Accessibility
IV. Staff’s Recommendations
National Accounts
Consumer Price Index
Producer Price Index
Government Finance Statistics
Monetary Statistics
Balance of Payments Statistics
Text Tables
1. Overview of Current Practices Compared to the GDDS
2. DQAF: Summary Presentation of Results
Acronyms
1993 SNA |
System of National Accounts 1993 |
ACEA |
Azerbaijan Classification of Economic Activities |
AD |
Accounting Department |
AIOC |
Azerbaijan International Operating Company |
BIS |
Bank for International Settlements |
BPD |
Balance of Payments Division |
BPM5 |
Balance of Payments Manual, fifth edition |
BSD |
Banking Statistics Division |
COFOG |
Classification of the Functions of the Government |
COICOP |
Classification of Individual Consumption by Purpose |
CPA |
Classification of Products by Activity |
CPI |
Consumer Price Index |
DQAF |
Data Quality Assessment Framework |
DSBB |
Dissemination Standards Bulletin Board |
DSLIA |
Department for Supervision of Lending Institutions’ Activities |
EID |
Economic Information Division of the National Bank of Azerbaijan |
GDDS |
General Data Dissemination Standard |
GDP |
Gross Domestic Production |
GFCF |
Gross Domestic Fixed Capital Formation |
GFS |
Government Finance Statistics |
GFSM 1986 |
A Manual of Government Financial Statistics 1986 |
GFSM 2001 |
Government Financial Statistics Manual 2001 |
HBS |
Household Budget Survey |
ILO |
International Labor Organization |
IMF |
International Monetary Fund |
IOC |
International Oil Consortium |
ITRS |
International Transaction Reporting System |
MFSM |
Monetary and Financial Statistics Manual |
MOF |
Ministry of Finance |
NACE |
General Industrial Classification of Economic Activities within the European Communities |
NAD |
National Accounts Department |
NBA |
National Bank of Azerbaijan |
OECD |
Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development |
PPI |
Producer Price Index |
ROSC |
Report on the Observance of Standards and Codes |
SCC |
State Customs Committee |
SD |
Statistics Department |
SDDS |
Special Data Dissemination Standard |
SNA |
System of National Accounts |
SOCAR |
State Oil Company of Azerbaijan Republic |
SOF |
State Oil Fund |
SSC |
State Statistical Committee of Azerbaijan Republic |
TACIS |
Technical Assistance to the Commonwealth of Independent States |
TIMS |
Treasury Information Management System |
Executive Summary
This Report on the Observance of Standards and Codes (ROSC) data module provides a review of Azerbaijan’s data dissemination practices against the IMF’s General Data Dissemination System (GDDS), complemented by an in-depth assessment of the quality of the national accounts, consumer price index, producer price index, government finance, monetary, and balance of payments statistics using the Data Quality Assessment Framework (DQAF) developed by the IMF’s Statistics Department (STA). These data are produced by the State Statistical Committee (SSC), the Ministry of Finance (MOF), and the National Bank of Azerbaijan (NBA). The assessment was carried out by a mission from STA that visited Baku during April 8-23, 2002.
The mission reached the following main conclusions:
GDDS and Special Data Dissemination Standard (SDDS): Azerbaijan meets and in many cases substantially exceeds the GDDS recommendations on periodicity and timeliness for its macroeconomic statistics, although to meet SDDS requirements the data coverage would need to be extended to include central government operations with the required detail and the external debt schedule. In many areas Azerbaijan indeed meets the periodicity and timeliness of the SDDS, although—in addition to the items identified above—it would have to improve the timeliness of international reserves data, and disseminate general government operations with the required detail, as well as the reserves template. If there were a full commitment to move in this direction, few of the remaining items for SDDS subscription would be difficult to implement. If the authorities accorded it priority, and forcefully adopted an action plan, Azerbaijan should be able to subscribe within about one year.
Prerequisites of quality: The three main agencies responsible for compiling macroeconomic data have broadly adequate legal powers. Appropriate data sharing arrangements are in place, although those within the Ministry of Finance (MOF) concerning the State Oil Fund (SOF) appear not yet to be fully operational. On the fiscal side, there is focus almost solely on budget execution data rather than on government finance statistics (GFS) more broadly. While resources are generally adequate, there is a shortage of computers in the SSC. A full compilation of GFS and the implementation of improvements in balance of payments statistics would expose staff shortages in the MOF and the NBA. While data quality is viewed as very important, there is at present little emphasis on formally assessing user needs. In some areas very strong timeliness (well within even SDDS prescriptions) may reflect a lack of emphasis on other aspects of quality.
Integrity: Staff are experienced and professional, have high ethical standards, and in most cases use data sources impartially. Resolution of restrictions on access to comprehensive data from the SOF would improve this further. There appears to be limited pre-release governmental access to national accounts, monetary and fiscal data, and prices data. It would aid transparency if this pre-release were formally disclosed to the public.
Methodological soundness: Azerbaijan has made great strides in producing statistics broadly in line with the System of National Accounts 1993 (1993 SNA), the Monetary and Financial Statistics Manual (MFSM), and the Balance of Payments, fifth edition (BPM5). Azerbaijan should complement these achievements by putting a high priority on adopting best practice methodology on the fiscal side, as set out in the Government Financial Statistics Manual 2001 (GFSM 2001). Also national accounts could be improved, for instance, by producing subannual estimates as discrete quarterly values, and producing quarterly GDP volume figures using the same fixed base year. Classification of GFS and of selected components of the balance of payments should be brought into conformity with international guidelines.
Accuracy and reliability: Source data are generally comprehensive, with elaborate data collection programs, and the statistical techniques employed mostly follow sound statistical procedures. National accounts would be improved by calculating volume figures for the oil industry using value added rather than production weights for the enterprises. The quality of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) is at present affected by the fact that no items have been added to the basket since 1993. Government operations data are becoming progressively more complete, with extrabudgetary funds excluding the SOF available since January 2002, and SOF funds also scheduled to be included. The International Transactions Reporting System (ITRS) for balance of payments statistics should be modified to ensure completeness of reporting.
Serviceability: As noted above, periodicity and timeliness of dissemination are generally in line with GDDS recommendations, and in some cases meet the prescriptions of the SDDS. Datasets are generally consistent with each other. Consistency with past data is not always assured, in view of a number of statistical breaks that have occurred in recent years, for instance on government and monetary statistics. Also, presentation of sub-annual aggregates on a cumulative basis makes time series difficult to derive. The PPI series is new, so long time series are not yet available. National accounts clearly identify preliminary and revised data, while GFS and price indexes do not.
Accessibility: Statistics are disseminated in a variety of forms, although in some areas presentations are not very detailed, and financial constraints seem to limit the availability of some publications. Non-government users are rarely formally consulted as to their needs. Metadata are not generally easily available. Websites, while a welcome and very important innovation, are in some cases still new, and their potential is not yet fully realized.
Front Matter Page
INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND
AZERBAIJAN REPUBLIC
Report on the Observance of Standards and Codes (ROSC)—Data Module
Response by the Authorities
March 20, 2003
Contents
Letter from State Statistical Committee
Front Matter Page
INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND
AZERBAIJAN REPUBLIC
Detailed Assessments Using the Data Quality Assessment Framework (DQAF)
Prepared by the Statistics Department
Approved by Carol S. Carson and John Odling-Smee
March 20, 2003
This document contains a detailed assessment by dataset of the elements and indicators that underlie the data quality dimensions discussed in Azerbaijan’s Report on the Observance of Standards and Codes (ROSC)—Data Module. Azerbaijan’s current data dissemination practices against the General Data Dissemination System (GDDS), background information on the GDDS and the Special Data Dissemination Standard (SDDS), the generic framework used for the assessment of the quality of Azerbaijan’s macroeconomic statistics, and the results of the users’ survey are included as appendices.
Contents
Text Tables
Acronyms
I. National Accounts Statistics
II. Consumer Price Index
III. Producer Price Index
IV. Government Finance Statistics
V. Monetary Statistics
VI. Balance of Payments Statistics
Text Tables
1. DQAF: Summary Presentation of Results for National Accounts Statistics
2. DQAF: Summary Presentation of Results for Consumer Price Index
3. DQAF: Summary Presentation of Results for Producer Price Index
4. DQAF: Summary Presentation of Results for Government Finance Statistics
5. DQAF: Summary Presentation of Results for Monetary Statistics
6. DQAF: Summary Presentation of Results for Balance of Payments
Appendices
I. Summary of the General Data Dissemination System
II. Summary of the Special Data Dissemination Standard
III. DQAF—Generic Framework
IV. Users’ Survey
Acronyms
1993 SNA |
System of National Accounts 1993 |
ACEA |
Azerbaijan Classification of Economic Activities |
AD |
Accounting Department |
AIOC |
Azerbaijan International Operating Company |
BIS |
Bank for International Settlements |
BPD |
Balance of Payments Division |
BPM5 |
Balance of Payments Manual, fifth edition |
BSD |
Banking Statistics Division |
COFOG |
Classification of the Functions of the Government |
COICOP |
Classification of Individual Consumption by Purpose |
CPA |
Classification of Products by Activity |
CPI |
Consumer Price Index |
DQAF |
Data Quality Assessment Framework |
DSBB |
Dissemination Standards Bulletin Board |
DSLIA |
Department for Supervision of Lending Institutions’ Activities |
EID |
Economic Information Division of the National Bank of Azerbaijan |
GDDS |
General Data Dissemination Standard |
GDP |
Gross Domestic Production |
GFCF |
Gross Domestic Fixed Capital Formation |
GFS |
Government Finance Statistics |
GFSM 1986 |
A Manual of Government Financial Statistics 1986 |
GFSM 2001 |
Government Financial Statistics Manual 2001 |
HBS |
Household Budget Survey |
ILO |
International Labor Organization |
IMF |
International Monetary Fund |
IOC |
International Oil Consortium |
ITRS |
International Transaction Reporting System |
MFSM |
Monetary and Financial Statistics Manual |
MOF |
Ministry of Finance |
NACE |
General Industrial Classification of Economic Activities within the European Communities |
NAD |
National Accounts Department |
NBA |
National Bank of Azerbaijan |
OECD |
Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development |
PPI |
Producer Price Index |
ROSC |
Report on the Observance of Standards and Codes |
SCC |
State Customs Committee |
SD |
Statistics Department |
SDDS |
Special Data Dissemination Standard |
SNA |
System of National Accounts |
SOCAR |
State Oil Company of Azerbaijan Republic |
SOF |
State Oil Fund |
SSC |
State Statistical Committee of Azerbaijan Republic |
TACIS |
Technical Assistance to the Commonwealth of Independent States |
TIMS |
Treasury Information Management System |
Detailed Assessment Using the Data Quality Assessment Framework (DQAF)
The following detailed information on indicators of statistical practices in the areas of the national accounts, price, government finance, money and banking, and balance of payments statistics was gathered from publicly available documents and information provided by the Azerbaijan officials. This information, which is organized along the lines of the generic DQAF (see Appendix III), was used to prepare the summary assessment of data quality elements, based on a four-part scale of observance, shown in Azerbaijan’s Report on the Observance on the Standards and Codes (ROSC)—Data Module.