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© 2003 International Monetary Fund

June 2003

IMF Country Report No. 03/150

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

This Report on the Observance of Standards and Codes on Data Module for Mexico 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 May 23, 2003. The views expressed in this document are those of the staff team and do not necessarily reflect the views of the government of Mexico 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.

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

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INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND

MEXICO

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

Prepared by the Statistics Department and the Western Hemisphere Department

Approved by Carol S. Carson and Anoop Singh

May 23, 2003

Contents

• Acronyms

• Executive Summary

• I. Introduction

• II. Data Dissemination Practices and the SDDS

  • Data dimension: coverage, periodicity, and timeliness

  • Access dimension

  • Integrity dimension

  • Monitoring of data and access dimensions

• III. Summary Data Quality Assessment

  • Prerequisites of data quality

  • Integrity

  • Accuracy and reliability

  • Accessibility

• IV. Fund Staff Recommendations

  • General recommendations

  • National accounts

  • National Consumer Price Index

  • National Producer Price Index

  • Balance of payments statistics

  • Government finance statistics

  • Monetary statistics

• Text Table

• 1. Summary Data Quality Assessment

Acronyms

Executive Summary

This data module of the Report on Observance of Standards and Codes (ROSC) for Mexico contains (1) a brief assessment of dissemination practices relative to the Special Data Dissemination Standards (SDDS) of the International Monetary Fund (IMF); (2) a summary assessment of the data quality dimensions underlying the national accounts, consumer price, producer price, balance of payments, government finance, and monetary statistics, based on the Data Quality Assessment Framework (DQAF) prepared by the IMF Statistics Department; and (3) the main recommendations of the IMF staff for improving the quality of macroeconomic statistics. The assessments have been prepared on the basis of information provided to the IMF by the Mexican authorities and official data available to the public.

The statistics-producing agencies assessed in this report are the National Institute of Statistics, Geography, and Information Technology (INEGI), the Bank of Mexico (BM), and the Secretariat of Finance and Public Credit (SHCP). This report was prepared by a mission that visited Mexico from February 20 to March 7, 2002.¹

The mission’s main general findings are as follows:

• Dissemination of data subject to the SDDS is in observance of all SDDS specifications, including data coverage, periodicity, and timeliness and the dissemination of advance data release calendars. In several cases, the periodicity and timeliness of these data exceed SDDS requirements.

• The overall quality of Mexican statistics is good. However, there are various areas where improvements could be made. The authorities are aware of this situation and are continuing work in this regard.

• The authorities maintain an open dissemination policy and make sufficient information available to the public in printed form and on the websites of the statistics-producing agencies. However, some of their statistics would be more useful if some improvements were made in coverage, dissemination of metadata (information on methodology, statistical techniques, and source data), and presentation of the data.

The mission’s main findings regarding elements of the DQAF are as follows:

Prerequisites of data quality: The legal environment is generally adequate. The legal framework gives the SHCP the necessary powers to regulate and coordinate the national statistical system. It also makes it mandatory to provide information and establishes penalties to be imposed on those not complying with reporting requirements or not observing information confidentiality. However, the Bank of Mexico Law does not authorize the BM to collect statistics on the nonfinancial private sector. Coordination within and between the statistics-producing agencies is adequate, and all the agencies have sufficient human, financial, and information technology resources for carrying out their work.

Integrity: All the agencies demonstrate professionalism and provide their staff with ethical guidelines. The selection of data sources and methods is governed by statistical considerations. The agencies’ statistics policies and practices are transparent.

Methodological soundness: Internationally accepted concepts and definitions have generally been applied or are being adopted, except in the case of government finance statistics, which follow national criteria that are similar but not identical to international criteria. The scope of some macroeconomic statistics and the classifications used in them do not follow international recommendations. The complete adoption of international standards and guidelines in the compilation of all statistics would improve their methodological soundness and facilitate international comparisons.

Accuracy and reliability: Although source data and statistical techniques are generally adequate for the compilation of the annual national accounts, the compilation of the quarterly estimates of GDP at current prices and the method of benchmarking the quarterly national accounts estimates to the outturn of the annual accounts should be refined. The regular preparation of revision studies would help improve the accuracy and reliability of statistics.

Serviceability: The periodicity and timeliness of the statistics are good. The intersectoral reconciliation of the statistics is adequate in most cases. A formal process of frequent user consultations and the dissemination of revision studies would improve the serviceability of statistics.

Accessibility: Statistics are disseminated simultaneously to all users in accordance with a calendar established in advance. The provision of detailed methodological notes on the compilation of the balance of payments and monetary statistics would facilitate a better understanding of these statistics.

The mission’s main recommendations for improving the quality of Mexico’s macroeconomic statistics are presented in the last section of the report.

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INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND

MEXICO

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

Response by the Authorities

May 23, 2003

Contents

• I. Introduction

• II. National Accounts

• III. National Consumer Price Index

• IV. Balance of Payments Statistics

• V. Monetary Statistics

• VI. Government Finance Statistics

Front Matter Page

INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND

MEXICO

Detailed Assessments Using the Data Quality Assessment Framework (DQAF)

Prepared by the Statistics Department and the Western Hemisphere Department

Approved by Carol S. Carson and Anoop Singh

May 23, 2003

Contents

• Acronyms

• I. National Accounts

• II. Consumer Price Index (CPI)

• III. Producer Price Index

• IV. Balance of Payments

• V. Government Finance

• VI. Monetary Statistics

• Appendices

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

• II. General Overview of Data Dissemination Practices in Comparison with the SDDS

• III. The Data Quality Assessment Framework

• IV. Data Quality Assessment Framework: Generic Framework

• V. Tables: Data Quality Assessment Framework

• VI. Users’ Views

• Appendix Tables

• 1. DQAF—Summary for National Accounts

• 2. DQAF—Summary for the CPI

• 3. DQAF—Summary for the PPI

• 4. DQAF—Summary for Balance of Payments Statistics

• 5. DQAF—Summary for Government Finance Statistics

• 6. DQAF—Summary for Monetary Statistics

Acronyms

Detailed Assessment Using the Data quality Assessment Framework (dqaf)

The following information on indicators of statistical practices in the areas of national accounts, consumer prices, producer prices, balance of payments, government finance, and monetary statistics were derived from publicly available documents and information provided by Mexican officials. The mission used this information, organized according to the guidelines of the generic DQAF, to prepare the summary assessment of the data quality elements contained in Section III of Part I.