Kingdom of the Netherlands
Netherlands: Report on the Observance of Standards and Codes: Data Module, Response by the Authorities, and Detailed Assessment Using the Data Quality Assessment Framework (DQAF)

Dutch macroeconomic statistics are generally in accordance with internationally accepted standards and guidelines on concepts and definitions, scope, classification and sectorization, and basis for recording. They are also available with periodicity and timeliness that always meet, and sometimes exceed, Special Data Dissemination Standard (SDDS) requirements. The macroeconomic statistics of the Netherlands get high marks for accuracy and reliability. The range of annual source data for national accounts is extensive. However, there are no quarterly collections from enterprises for gross fixed capital formation or inventories.

Abstract

Dutch macroeconomic statistics are generally in accordance with internationally accepted standards and guidelines on concepts and definitions, scope, classification and sectorization, and basis for recording. They are also available with periodicity and timeliness that always meet, and sometimes exceed, Special Data Dissemination Standard (SDDS) requirements. The macroeconomic statistics of the Netherlands get high marks for accuracy and reliability. The range of annual source data for national accounts is extensive. However, there are no quarterly collections from enterprises for gross fixed capital formation or inventories.

I. Overall Assessment

1. The Netherlands subscribed to the IMF’s Special Data Dissemination Standard (SDDS) on June 11, 1996, and started posting its metadata on the Dissemination Standards Bulletin Board (DSBB) on September 19, 1996. The Netherlands has met all the SDDS requirements since April 26, 2000 and is currently in full observance of the SDDS. It meets the SDDS specifications for coverage, periodicity, and timeliness for all data categories. The SDDS data categories are disseminated on the Netherlands’ National Summary Data Page, which is hyperlinked on the DSBB, and is updated on a timely basis. Appendix I provides an overview of the Netherlands’ dissemination practices compared to the SDDS.

2. The membership of Statistics Netherlands (CBS) and the Netherlands Bank (DNB) in the European Statistical System (ESS) and the European System of Central Banks (ESCB), respectively, shape official statistical policies and practices. The legal requirements of the ESS and the ESCB drive much of the Netherlands’ statistical work program. Statisticians from the CBS and the DNB participate with colleagues from other member countries in working groups, committees, and other forums leading to close cooperation on statistical matters, increasing opportunities for sharing good practices, and enhancing professionalism.

3. In applying the IMF’s Data Quality Assessment Framework (DQAF), July 2003 version, the remainder of this section presents the mission’s main conclusions. The presentation is done at the level of the DQAF’s quality dimensions, by agency for the first two dimensions, and across datasets for the remaining four. Section II provides a summary assessment by agency and dataset based on a four-part scale. This is followed by staff recommendations in Section III. The authorities’ response to this report and a volume of Detailed Assessments are presented in separate documents.

4. The Report on the Observance of Standards and Codes (ROSC) data module contains the following main observations.

Prerequisites of quality and assurances of integrity

5. Statistics Netherlands (CBS) has the responsibility for collecting, processing, and disseminating all macroeconomic statistics (excluding balance of payments and monetary statistics). The Statistics Netherlands Act of November 2003 (Statistics Act), supported by other Dutch and European regulations, establishes an adequate legal mandate to require the necessary data and protect confidentiality. Effective and well-established procedures are in place to ensure adequate data sharing among data-producing agencies and coordination between the CBS and providers of source data.

6. The CBS staff resources have been reduced significantly in recent years and further cuts are envisaged. While staff resources are generally commensurate with the current statistical programs, planned staff cuts and measures to reduce response burden will preclude maintaining current practices in the compilation of the PPI (e.g., sample size) and hamper taking on new projects (e.g., compiling government finance statistics (GFS) according to the Government Finance Statistics Manual (GFSM 2001), improving the quality of local government source data, improving the data on services, and enhancing CPI methods).

7. Regular contacts with the main users of official statistics are maintained through seven high-level advisory boards and bilateral meetings with strategic users at managerial and technical levels. The CBS clearly demonstrates awareness of quality as the cornerstone of its statistical work, applies strict technical procedures in the compilation and dissemination of statistics, and promotes a culture of professionalism and high ethical standards.

8. The terms and conditions under which statistics are produced and disseminated are available on the CBS website and in publications. Information on internal government access to data before their release to the public, as established in the Statistics Act, is made known to the public. The CBS’s Code of Practice guides the staff on ethical conduct.

9. The responsibility for compiling statistics by the Netherlands Bank (DNB) is embedded in the Bank Act of 1998. More specifically, the responsibility for compiling balance of payments statistics is clearly stated in the External Financial Relations Act of 1994, which supports mandatory data reporting and the confidentiality of the reported data. While the legislation does not prescribe data dissemination responsibilities, the DNB has a long-standing and unchallenged tradition of disseminating the data as a public service. The DNB also subscribes to the Public Commitment with respect to the ESCB’s Statistical Function, which states that ESCB statistics are governed by the principles of impartiality, scientific independence, cost-effectiveness, statistical confidentiality, non-excessive burden on respondents and high output quality. The DNB compiles the balance of payments in close cooperation with the CBS. An agreement between the CBS and the DNB was formally ratified in 2006 to further strengthen the decades-long cooperation between the two institutions.

10. Despite a significant reduction in staff resources dedicated to the compilation and dissemination of balance of payments statistics in recent years, they are commensurate with the current work program. Staff turnover is relatively low, contributing to a core staff with a great deal of experience. The current budget framework allows for a timely anticipation of needed changes. The DNB maintains regular contacts with users and has well-established procedures to monitor data quality.

11. Professionalism of staff is actively promoted by the DNB, and choices of data sources and statistical techniques are strictly made on the basis of data requirements by internationally accepted guidelines, availability of sources, and cost-benefit considerations. The terms and conditions under which the data are compiled and disseminated are available to the public. Integrity is at the core of the DNB’s Code of Conduct, representing an integral part of its professional culture.

Methodological soundness

12. Dutch macroeconomic statistics are generally in accordance with internationally accepted standards and guidelines on concepts and definitions, scope, classification and sectorization, and basis for recording.

13. The national accounts are compiled according to the European System of Accounts 1995 (1995 ESA), the CPI and PPI follow the relevant international manuals and European regulations, and the balance of payments is compiled according to the Balance of Payments Manual, fifth edition (BPM5) and the legal requirements of the ECB and Eurostat. The CBS produces annual and quarterly GFS covering the consolidated general government sector based on 1995 ESA and the 1995 ESA Manual on Government Deficit and Debt, and the MOF compiles monthly GFS on the same basis, covering the budgetary central government. However, the compilation and presentation of fiscal data in an integrated framework following the GFSM 2001 would support comprehensive fiscal analysis and broaden the scope of GFS to include, for example, a cash flow statement and a complete balance sheet that would include liabilities for the unfunded and nonautonomous government employee pension scheme. Plans to disseminate data in line with the GFSM 2001 have not been developed.

14. There are some deviations from international standards in classification and sectorization. For example, CPI classification is largely based on COICOP, but there are some deviations, notably the definition of separate categories for consumption-based taxes and for spending by Dutch residents abroad. In GFS, a detailed breakdown of tax revenue, as recommended in GFSM 2001, is lacking and swaps are misclassified as accounts payable/receivable in the GFS sector accounts.

Accuracy and reliability

15. The macroeconomic statistics of the Netherlands get high marks for accuracy and reliability. The range of annual source data for national accounts is extensive. Production statistics are available for many industries and provide a rich data source with detailed information on intermediate inputs being collected every year for manufacturing. However, there are no quarterly collections from enterprises for gross fixed capital formation or inventories. With respect to price statistics, the source data for the CPI are broadly adequate, but the five-year rotation process in the PPI can lead to company and product samples that are out-of-date.

16. Although source data are broadly adequate for compiling GFS, there is room for improvement. The quality of source data for local governments is often compromised by not always following the required definitions and classifications. Adequate source data for some accounts payable/receivable in the quarterly financial accounts are not available. The source data for BOP statistics come from comprehensive data collection programs, based primarily on direct reporting of banks and nonbank enterprises, and government units.

17. Statistical techniques and the procedures for assessing the source data and statistical outputs are sound across the five macroeconomic datasets, and are under continuous review to ensure that the statistics generally portray reality.

Serviceability

18. Dutch macroeconomic statistics are available with periodicity and timeliness that always meet, and sometimes exceed, SDDS requirements. Users are generally very positive in their assessments of the statistics. Consistency within and across datasets is adequate and the data series are comparable over time.

19. Clear and transparent information about the revisions schedule and about the revisions is generally provided across the five datasets, though there is room for improvement in balance of payments statistics. The policy followed by the DNB for data revisions is not made known to the public, and preliminary or revised data are not clearly identified in the publications.

Accessibility

20. The Dutch macroeconomic statistics are readily accessible and are disseminated simultaneously to all users. The official websites provide comprehensive data in a variety of formats to allow proper interpretation and meaningful comparisons. There is some room, nevertheless, to make the CBS website more user friendly, which is consistent with the results of the users’ survey. Although detailed breakdowns of major aggregates of the national accounts are disseminated and long time series are available, more seasonally adjusted series should be disseminated. Also, the BOP data lack a detailed breakdown for the classification of services and on reverse investment flows. All statistics are released following a preannounced schedule that is posted on the CBS and DNB websites.

21. The websites and publications provide adequate information on definitions and methods, including analytical and background papers. Prompt and knowledgeable support is provided to users of the five assessed datasets. The official websites and publications clearly identify contacts for each dataset and the timeliness and quality of assistance to users is routinely monitored by the agencies.

22. The remainder of this report is organized as follows: Section II provides a summary assessment by agency and dataset based on a four-point rating scale. This is followed by staff recommendations in Section III. Dutch practices compared with the SDDS are summarized in Appendix I. The authorities’ response to this report and a volume of detailed assessments are presented in separate documents.

II. Assessment by Agency and Dataset

23. Assessments of the quality of five macroeconomic datasets—national accounts, consumer price index, producer price index, government finance, and balance of payments statistics—were conducted using the DQAF, July 2003. In this section, the results are presented at the level of the DQAF elements and using a four-point rating scale (Table 1). Assessments of the prerequisites of data quality and the assurances of integrity (Dimensions “0” and “1” of the DQAF) are presented in Tables 2a. and 2b. For each dataset, the assessment of methodological soundness, accuracy and reliability, serviceability, and accessibility (Dimensions “2” to “5” of the DQAF) are shown in Tables 3ae.

Table 1.

The Netherlands: Data Quality Assessment Framework July 2003—Summary Results

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Practice observed: Current practices generally meet or achieve the objectives of DQAF internationally accepted statistical practices without any significant deficiencies. Practice largely observed: Some departures, but these are not seen as sufficient to raise doubts about the authorities’ ability to observe the DQAF practices. Practice largely not observed: Significant departures and the authorities will need to take significant action to achieve observance. Practice not observed: Most DQAF practices are not met. Not applicable: Used only exceptionally when statistical practices do not apply to a country’s circumstances.
Table 2a.

The Netherlands: Assessment of Data Quality—Dimensions 0 and 1—Statistics Netherlands

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Table 2b.

The Netherlands: Assessment of Data Quality—Dimensions 0 and 1—Netherlands Bank

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Table 3a.

The Netherlands: Assessment of Data Quality—Dimensions 2 to 5—National Accounts

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Table 3b.

The Netherlands: Assessment of Data Quality—Dimensions 2 to 5—Consumer Price Index

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Table 3c.

The Netherlands: Assessment of Data Quality—Dimensions 2 to 5—Producer Price Index

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Table 3d.

The Netherlands: Assessment of Data Quality—Dimensions 2 to 5—Government Finance Statistics

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Table 3e.

The Netherlands: Assessment of Data Quality—Dimensions 2 to 5—Balance of Payments Statistics

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24. An informal survey of users of macroeconomic statistics was conducted with the support of the CBS and DNB to complement the IMF’s assessment. Questionnaires were sent to a wide range of users, including international agencies, government agencies, research institutes, media, associations, enterprises, and banks. Surveys were sent to 129 targeted users and 50 responses were received (39 percent). Users were asked to evaluate the coverage, periodicity, timeliness, dissemination practices, accessibility, and overall quality of the official statistics.

25. On a five point scale (1 = poor and 5 = excellent), the average rating for the overall quality of all official statistics was 4.0. There was very little variation across datasets, with a 0.5 difference between the sector that scored the highest (balance of payments) and the one that scored the lowest (national accounts). The large majority of respondents (74 percent) felt that the official statistics of the Netherlands are at least as good as those of other countries in the region, and a significant number (23 percent) considered them to be better.

26. In terms of the different elements of data quality, respondents expressed the most satisfaction with the methodological soundness and accuracy of price and national accounts statistics, and believe that there is room for improving those elements in government finance and balance of payments statistics. There was broad satisfaction with the periodicity, timeliness and accessibility of the statistics and related metadata. However, only one-third of the respondents were aware of the existence of advance release calendars, which have been available on the websites of the CBS and DNB, as well as on the IMF’s Data Standards Bulletin Board, for several years.

27. Many respondents took advantage of the survey to provide additional comments and suggestions. Among these, users expressed interest in more disaggregated data on prices, production, foreign direct investment, trade in services, and government finance statistics. They also felt that the lag between the preliminary and final national accounts was too long and that the timeliness of hard copy publications could be improved. Some users mentioned that the official websites were quite adequate, but they could be more user-friendly. Also, users commented that there was room for improving the revisions policy and practices.

28. A more detailed analysis of the Users’ Survey and tabulated results are included in Appendix III of the accompanying document Detailed Assessments Using the Data Quality Assessment Framework (DQAF).

III. Staff’s Recommendations

29. Based on the review of the Dutch statistical practices, discussions with the data producing agencies, and responses from data users (see Appendix III of the Detailed Assessments volume), the mission has developed a set of recommendations. They are designed to increase further the Netherlands’ adherence to internationally accepted statistical practices and would, in the mission’s view, enhance the analytical usefulness of Dutch statistics. Some additional technical suggestions are included in the Detailed Assessments volume.

Cross-cutting recommendation

  • In view of the significant reduction in the staff resources dedicated to the compilation and dissemination of statistics in recent years and the envisaged additional cuts, ensure that available resources continue to be commensurate with maintaining current practices in the compilation of the PPI (e.g., sample size) or taking on new projects (e.g., compiling government finance statistics (GFS) according to the Government Finance Statistics Manual (GFSM 2001), improving the quality of local government source data, improving the data on services, and enhancing CPI methods).

National accounts

  • Develop quarterly data sources to measure changes in inventories and capital formation of enterprises.

  • Calculate and publish more detailed seasonally adjusted series, and publish quarterly percentage change tables for seasonally adjusted aggregates rather than for original aggregates.

Consumer price index

  • Review the deviations from standard COICOP classification for the CPI, particularly the inclusion in the index of taxes based on consumer asset holdings.

Producer price index

  • After the January 2009 update, implement continuous sampling processes to ensure that the coverage of companies and products remains representative of the Dutch economy.

Government finance statistics

  • Compile and disseminate annual and quarterly general government statistics in line with the analytical framework set out in the GFSM 2001.

  • Compile and disseminate a Statement of Sources and Uses of Cash (cash flow statement), as well as a complete balance sheet, for the general government and its subsectors. As an interim measure (until recognized by the 1993 SNA and 1995 ESA), include government’s liabilities for the unfunded nonautonomous employee pension scheme as a memorandum item in the balance sheet.

  • Compile and disseminate a detailed classification of tax revenue according to the GFSM 2001.

  • Continue to explore ways to improve the quality of source data for local governments, as well as the quality of the quarterly source data for accounts payable/receivable in the financial accounts of all subsectors of general government.

Balance of payments statistics

  • Include more detailed information on services in the standard presentation of the BOP.

  • Publicize information on regular revisions and clearly identify the status of data in the publications.

Appendix I. The Netherlands: Practices Compared with the SDDS Coverage, Periodicity, and Timeliness of Data

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Note: Periodicity and timeliness: (D) daily; (W) weekly or with a lag of no more than one week from the reference data or the closing of the reference week; (M) monthly or with a lag of no more than one month; (Q) quarterly or with a lag of no more than one quarter; (A) annually; (NLT) not later than; and (…) not applicable.

Italics indicate encouraged categories.

Given that the data are broadly disseminated by private means, the timeliness with which official data are disseminated is not time critical.