Compliance in Progress Summary
Italy has been a subscriber to the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) Special Data Dissemination Standard (SDDS) since August 1996 and met SDDS requirements for its posted metadata in April 2000. The IMF, in 2007, released a Report on the Observance of Standards and Codes (ROSC) on Italy's data module, in which it notes that Italy meets the SDDS specifications for coverage, periodicity, timeliness, and the dissemination of advance release calendars. However, as noted in the above report and on the IMF's SDDS website, for data on production index and central government operations, Italy avails itself of the timeliness flexibility option. According to a 2008 SDDS Annual Observance Report by the IMF, Italy met the SDDS requirement on advance release calendars for all months in 2008. With regards to its integrity dimension, the SDDS website indicates that Italy falls short of its requirements in some respects. For example, Italy's metadata page on the IMF's SDDS website does not provide information on the identification of ministerial commentary for statistical releases for most data categories. Similarly, for three data categories, no information is given regarding Italy’s provision of information about revision of data. According to an IMF's 2008 Article IV Consultation report, Italy's economic data is generally of high quality and adequate for surveillance purposes. The metadata published by Italy on the IMF's SDDS website indicates that Italy generally meets the requirements of the SDDS quality dimension relating to the dissemination of documentation on statistical gathering methodology, but fails to meet the standards for most data categories regarding the dissemination of component detail and reconciliation with related data.
General Overview
Italy has been a subscriber to the International Monetary Fund's (IMF) Special Data Dissemination Standard (SDDS) since August 1996 and met SDDS requirements for its posted metadata in April 2000. According to the SDDS website, the country provides summary methodologies for all requisite data categories. Annex II of the IMF's 2008 Article IV Consultation report notes that "Italy's economic database is comprehensive and of generally high quality" (p. 39). A February 2010 review of the IMF's SDDS website and a 2008 report by the IMF titled "Italy: Annual Observance Report of the Special Data Dissemination Standard for 2008" note that the country meets or exceeds the SDDS standards for coverage of its data. In addition, Italy also meets or exceeds the SDDS requirements for timeliness and periodicity for all data categories. However, Italy avails itself of the timeliness flexibility option for data on production index and central government operations. Wirth regards to the integrity dimension, the IMF’s 2008 SDDS Annual Observance Report for Italy states that "during 2008, Italy met the SDDS requirements for certification for most of the quarters except for third quarter (metadata not certified)" (p. 7).
As stipulated under Legislative Decree No. 322 of 1989, the National Institute of Statistics (ISTAT) is at the center of the National Statistical System (SISTAN). According to the IMF's 2002 Report on the Observance of Standards and Codes (ROSC), the main agencies responsible for the compilation and dissemination of the SDDS prescribed data categories are the ISTAT, which compiles and disseminates data on the national accounts, production index, labor market, price indices, merchandise trade, and population; the Bank of Italy (BoI), which is responsible for the analytical accounts of the banking sector, the analytical accounts of the central bank, interest rates, and the data template on international reserves and foreign currency liquidity, balance of payments data, and international investment position data; and the Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF), which is responsible for data on central government operations and central government debt. However, another ROSC published in 2007 notes that now the ISTAT has the prime responsibility for disseminating general government statistics to the public. Still, the 2007 ROSC also notes that "the responsibility for compiling and disseminating a comprehensive and integrated set of general government statistics remains to be specified" (p. 4) [and] "the legal and institutional environment of the MEF broadly supports its responsibility for the compilation and dissemination of data on budget execution" (p. 9).
According to the 2007 ROSC, the ISTAT and the BoI maintain a high degree of professionalism. The compilation of statistics by these agencies is impartial and supported by statutory provisions as well as long traditions of independence and professionalism. Similarly, the report notes that the MEF appears to be free from political and other influences in choosing the sources and methods for data dissemination. The choice of sources and methods are in accordance with statistical considerations, including those agreed in appropriate European-level committees in which these agencies participate. According to the 2007 ROSC, "Legislative Decree No. 322/1989 and subsequent legislation, especially the legislation under which ISTAT was reorganized in 2000, provides a sound legal and institutional environment for ISTAT’s activities, supports data sharing and coordination among statistics producing agencies, calls for protection of the confidentiality of individual responses, and contains legal provisions for statistical reporting" (p. 8).
The Principles
FCComprehensive economic and financial data, disseminated on a timely basis.
The 2007 IMF’s ROSC indicates that Italy observes SDDS requirements for coverage, periodicity, and timeliness for all data sets. A February 2010 review of the IMF's SDDS website and the IMF’s 2008 SDDS Annual Observance Report confirm this finding. However, for data on production index and central government operations, Italy avails itself of the timeliness flexibility option.
FCReady and equal access to official statistics.
A February 2010 review of the IMF's SDDS website for Italy indicates that the country fulfils all SDDS requirements for the access dimension. The country disseminates advance release calendars (ARC) and data are released simultaneously to all interested parties. The IMF’s 2008 SDDS Annual Observance Report for Italy states that “Italy met the SDDS requirements for ARC in all months” (p. 6) for that year.
CPOfficial statistics must have the confidence of their users. Transparency of its practices and procedures is a key factor.
With regards to the integrity dimension, the IMF’s 2008 SDDS Annual Observance Report for Italy states that "during 2008, Italy met the SDDS requirements for certification for most of the quarters except for third quarter (metadata not certified)" (p. 7). Metadata certification involves subscribers certifying every calendar quarter that the information posted on the IMF's Dissemination Standards Bulletin Board is correct and update metadata the subscriber deems incorrect at the certification time. A February 2010 review of the SDDS website indicates that Italy falls short of its requirements on integrity in some respects. For example, Italy's metadata page on the IMF's SDDS website does not provide information on the identification of ministerial commentary for statistical releases for most data categories. Similarly, for three data categories, no information is given regarding Italy’s provision of information about revision of data. However, the 2007 ROSC notes that compilation of statistics by the ISTAT and the BoI are impartial and supported by statutory provisions as well as long traditions of independence and professionalism.
CPA set of standards that deals with the coverage, periodicity and timeliness of data must also address the quality of statistics.
According to the IMF’s 2008 SDDS’s Annual Observance Report for Italy, "during 2008, Italy provided available information on the methodology, sources, and statistical techniques of data categories in (the) Data Quality Assessment Framework that would facilitate users to assess the quality of the data" (p. 7). A February 2010 review of the IMF's SDDS website indicates a mixed record of compliance by Italy against requirements of the SDDS quality dimension. For all but one category of data, Italy provides information regarding dissemination of documentation on methodology and sources used in preparing statistics. However, information is much more sporadic regarding Italy’s dissemination of component detail and reconciliation with related data. The SDDS website offers no information on four categories of data, while providing partial information on five others. For example, for data on share price index, international reserves, merchandise trade, and external debt there is no mention of statistical frameworks that support statistical cross-checks on the SDDS website. However, Annex II of the IMF's 2008 Article IV Consultation report notes that "Italy's economic database is comprehensive and of generally high quality" (p. 4). Similarly, the 2007 ROSC which assessed the quality of Italian data on national accounts, the consumer price index, the producer price index, and government finance statistics concludes that the data is generally of good quality.
