Characteristics of an effective statistical system

Business Economics, April, 1996 by Ivan P. Fellegi

An effective statistical system is characterized by its ability to illuminate issues, not just to monitor them; by its ability to evolve in response to needs; by its ability to be aware of priority information needs; and by its capability to set priorities. Such a system must have a high level of public credibility, because few in society can verify national statistics and therefore most have to rely on the public reputation of the agency providing the statistics. As part of that credibility, the system must be free from undue political interference.

Developed countries are going through a period of turbulence and restructuring. The postwar period of optimism, the sense of knowing (or being close to having) all the answers, is now followed by a period of self-examination. The main social, economic, and environmental concerns are seen as exceedingly complex, multifaceted, and having an enormous impact on our future. Those concerns are going to be tackled whether or not the relevant statistical information and analysis are available. Given the power of rational policy development, the availability of a strong and healthy statistical system can have a determining impact on the outcome of this process of reexamination and restructuring. In fact one might assert that, given the magnitude of our problems, the leverage of the right kind of statistical information system has seldom been as great. Motivated by the importance of national statistical systems, the paper will try to address the question: What are the conditions for the evolution and maintenance of such a statistical system.

INSTITUTIONAL AND LEGAL FRAMEWORKS

The first element of such a framework is, of course, the legal one: Who are designated as the main players within the statistical system, what are their mandates, what legal enforcement powers do they have and, most importantly, how strongly and unequivocally protected is the confidentiality of individually identifiable information.

In Canada a Statistics Act lays down several main points. It establishes a mandate for the statistical office -- Statistics Canada -- that, in terms of subject coverage, is virtually unlimited. It also identifies all information requests by the agency as compulsory unless they have specifically been designated as voluntary. This applies not only to individuals and business, but also to representatives of all levels of government and other organizations. The Act provides blanket access for Statistics Canada to all records held by governments, and specifically identifies all taxation and customs records, as well as records of courts. This strong power to collect and access information is counterbalanced by an ironclad guarantee of confidentiality: all employees of the agency are personally liable for the protection of statistical confidentiality, and not even courts can have access to individually identifiable statistical information without the informed consent of respondents. The Act is unequivocal in its requirement to publish the information collected. This has always been interpreted as ruling out the collection of information for specific clients on a privileged basis.

CHIEF STATISTICIAN

The position of Chief Statistician is an equally important component of the overall framework. The Chief Statistician's role and authority, background, method of appointment and removal, standing in the government hierarchy, political independence, and public profile are key to the functioning of the system.

A major role of the Chief Statistician is to coordinate the statistical system -- for which tools are needed. In Canada the Chief Statistician has modest powers in respect of statistical activities outside Statistics Canada; they involve the authority to establish classification schemes, the establishment of arrangements for joint collections, and the authority to consult with all other agencies involved in statistical activities. But the Statistics Act gives the Chief Statistician enormously strong levers in respect of the operations of Statistics Canada. He is personally responsible for protecting the confidentiality of individual respondent records; while in all other respects the Chief Statistician operates formally under a designated Minister, the Minister cannot overrule him with respect to confidentiality issues. By established practice, the Chief Statistician also has full authority for setting priorities for Statistics Canada's programs within a single overall budget.

Needless to say, this a very strong lever that contributes to a number of objectives. For example, it permits him to guide the evolution of the statistical system along a set of medium-term priorities: it provides him with flexibility to mobilize resources for priority objectives; it permits the implementation of system-wide management initiatives, such as the application of strong leadership in the area of human resource development; and it represents a very important bulwark against politicization.

The authority of the Chief Statistician derives from several factors besides the formal legal mandate. A major source is the level of the position within the government hierarchy. In Canada the position has the rank of deputy minister that, in United States terms, roughly corresponds to Undersecretary. However, in Canada by tradition deputy ministers are nonpolitical appointees. Even within this nonpolitical cadre, the Chief Statistician stands apart. While deputy ministers can and are regularly moved around among departments, the Chief Statistician is not; the position is regarded as one that requires special personal and professional competencies.