<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><p> Short-term statistics (STS) are important early indicators of economic activity. The statistics are obligatory for all EU countries and also serve as input to national accounts. In most countries, short-term Statistics are based on business surveys. However, in recent years a number of countries have gradually replaced their business surveys with business VAT registry data. An important question is whether these surveys and registries are representative of the populations and whether representativity is stable in time. We apply R-indicators and partial R-indicators to measure the representativity of both kinds of data sources. We find large differences between different months of the year and between the two data sources. We discuss dual frame approaches that optimize the accuracy of STS statistics.</p></abstract>

Short-term statistics (STS) are important early indicators of economic activity. The statistics are obligatory for all EU countries and also serve as input to national accounts. In most countries, short-term Statistics are based on business surveys. However, in recent years a number of countries have gradually replaced their business surveys with business VAT registry data. An important question is whether these surveys and registries are representative of the populations and whether representativity is stable in time. We apply R-indicators and partial R-indicators to measure the representativity of both kinds of data sources. We find large differences between different months of the year and between the two data sources. We discuss dual frame approaches that optimize the accuracy of STS statistics.

Measuring Representativeness of Short-Term Business Statistics

Department of Methodology, Statistics Netherlands, PO Box 4000, 2270JM Den Haag, The Netherlands.

Journal of Official Statistics

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

{"article-title":"Measuring Representativeness of Short-Term Business Statistics"}

Short-term statistics (STS) are important early indicators of economic activity. The statistics are obligatory for all EU countries and also serve as input to...

Measuring Representativeness of Short-Term Business Statistics

Published Online: Dec 11, 2014

Page range: 623 - 649

Received: Nov 01, 2012

Accepted: Jun 01, 2014

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/jos-2014-0041

Keywords
Business surveys, registry data, survey nonresponse

© by Pim Ouwehand

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Measuring Representativeness of Short-Term Business Statistics

Published Online: Dec 11, 2014

Page range: 623 - 649

Received: Nov 01, 2012

Accepted: Jun 01, 2014

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/jos-2014-0041

KeywordsBusiness surveys, registry data, survey nonresponse

© by Pim Ouwehand

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Keywords
Business surveys, registry data, survey nonresponse