Presentation by

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Seminar on Shifting Paradigms Innovative
Statistical Frameworks To Meet Global Challenges
Session 2 Innovative Frameworks for
Social/Household Statistics Panel Discussion on
Emerging Statistical Frameworks
Presentation by ROMULO A. VIROLA Secretary
General National Statistical Coordination Board,
The Philippines
Organized by the United Nations Statistics
Division 42nd Session of the United Nations
Statistical Commission Conference Room 1
(TNLB) 18 February 2011
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Outline of the Presentation

• Introduction
• A Developing Country Perspective View from the
  Philippines
• Some Premises/Some Questions/Some Answers/Some
  Challenges

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I. Introduction

• Social statistics lagging behind economic
  statistics
• But social progress is just as important as
  economic progress
• Therefore, there is an urgent need to move the
  agenda on the development of social statistics
  forward

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I. Introduction

• Actually, there are many past and present efforts
  to further develop social statistics/measures of
  well-being
• UN/UNSD initiatives
• Experts Group Meetings
• Handbooks/International Recommendations/MNSDS
• Global Fora ( 3rd Global Forum on Gender
  Statistics in Manila)
• City Groups ( Sienna Group, Washington Group on
  Disability Statistics)
• Friends Of the Chair
• Inventories/Knowledge databases
• Initiatives by other international organizations
• OECD (World Forum on Statistics, Knowledge
  Policy)/Istanbul Declaration, METAGORA)

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I. Introduction

• Actually, there are many past and present efforts
  to develop social statistics
• Regional initiatives
• UNESCAP Advisory Group on Social Statistics
• ASEAN Statistical Report on MDG Indicators
• National initiatives
• Bhutans Gross National Happiness

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I. Introduction

• So, why has the development of social statistics
  not caught up with that of economic statistics?
• We have not been able to develop a comprehensive
  and widely-used framework for social statistics
  like the SNA for economic statistics
• We have general agreement on the concept of
  economic growth but not on social
  progress/genuine progress of society?
• Varying culture
• Varying extent of social problems
• Varying social concerns
• Varying social priorities
• We may agree on health and even education
• But on governance, VAW, poverty, etc.?

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I. Introduction

• And while the HDI was an attempt to combine
  economic and social progress, it has not gained
  universal acceptance ( partly because of the lack
  of wide and proper consultation in its
  development )
• Other failed attempts? Sienna Group/MNSDS?
• A single unifying framework like the SNA not
  possible for social statistics?
• But surely we can move forward! How?

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• A Developing Country Perspective View from the
  Philippines

• While global initiatives can continue, in
  developing statistical frameworks on social
  statistics, we need an approach that recognizes
  and appreciates
• differences in culture/social problems and
  concerns/priorities among countries
• Varying levels of statistical development
• Resource constraints of developing countries
• Thus, a global framework may not work, but
  regional/subregional approaches that build on
  homogeneity within the region/subregion, may
  work.

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• A Developing Country Perspective View from the
  Philippines

• And a national approach or a bottom-up approach
  instead of a top-down approach might work best,
  might be most practical and most practicable
• Fosters national ownership
• Enhances acceptability
• Increases chances for national funding support
• Although international comparability could be an
  issue
• Possibilities Incorporate the framework on
  well-being/social statistics in the countrys
  NSDS (PARIS21)
• Improved/Expanded MNSDS?
• National Social Indicators?
• National Development Indicators?

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• A Developing Country Perspective View from the
  Philippines

INNOVATIVE FRAMEWORKS FOR SOCIAL/HOUSEHOLD
STATISTICS IN THE PHILIPPINES AMIDST RESOURCE
CONSTRAINTS

• Poverty Statistics
• 1.1 Small area estimates of poverty

• GEOGRAPHICAL
• 2000 city and municipal level poverty estimates
• NSCB initiative funded by the World Bank (WB)
• Used the Elbers, Lanjouw, and Lanjouw (ELL) SAE
  methodology developed by the WB.
• Collaborated with consultants from the academe
• Merged data from the Family Income and
  Expenditure Survey (FIES), the Labor Force Survey
  (LFS), and the Census of Population and Housing
  (CPH), which were all conducted in 2000.
• Produced the first set of SAE of poverty for the
  year 2000 at the city and municipal levels

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• A Developing Country Perspective View from the
  Philippines

INNOVATIVE FRAMEWORKS FOR SOCIAL/HOUSEHOLD
STATISTICS IN THE PHILIPPINES

• Poverty Statistics
• 1.1 Small area estimates of poverty

• GEOGRAPHICAL
• 2003 intercensal city and municipal level poverty
  estimates
• Updated 2000 SAE poverty estimates at the city
  and municipal level to 2003
• Developed an updating methodology in
  collaboration with consultants from the academe
• Merged/Used Survey data for 2003, and census data
  for 2000
• Estimates have been used in the Conditional Cash
  Transfer program now the major poverty
  reduction program of government

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• A Developing Country Perspective View from the
  Philippines

• Poverty Statistics
• 1.1 Small area estimates of poverty

• SECTORAL
• Poverty statistics for the basic/marginalized
  sectors
• Funded by UNDP
• Merged data from the Family Income and
  Expenditure Survey (FIES) and the Labor Force
  Survey (LFS)
• The NSCB generated 2006 poverty statistics for
  the ff. basic sectors
• i) Women v) Farmers
• ii) Youth vi) Fishermen
• iii) Children vii) Workers in the formal
  sector
• iv) Senior citizens and migrant workers
• viii) Poor population living
• in urban areas

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• A Developing Country Perspective View from the
  Philippines

• Poverty Statistics
• 1.2 Middle-income class

• Provided a definition of the Filipino
  middle-income class in two ways based on income
  cut-off using cluster analysis and based on
  socio-economic characteristics, through
  regression analysis.
• Uses merged FIES and LFS data
• Generated estimates of the count of the
  middle-income class

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• A Developing Country Perspective View from the
  Philippines

2. Philippine Happiness Index (PHI)

• Pioneering effort of the NSCB started in 2007 on
  the development of a methodology to estimate the
  Philippine Happiness Index (PHI)
• Main feature of the PHI - It is not normative
  the methodology for the compilation of the PHI
  allows individuals to define/identify their
  domains of happiness.
• Has conducted nonrandom surveys on various groups
  to validate the conceptual and statistical
  framework including among low-income families.

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• A Developing Country Perspective View from the
  Philippines

3. Good Governance Index ( at subnational level)

• In 2004, the NSCB developed a methodology for a
  provincial level Good Governance Index (GGI)
  incorporating indicators on economic, political
  and administrative governance.
• Goal is to produce GGI estimates before elections
• Methodology is very dependent on/constrained by
  availability of data support
• Updated in 2007 and 2010, to include a municipal
  level GGI

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• A Developing Country Perspective View from the
  Philippines

3. Good Governance Index

• Now includes a Voters Index meant to assess
  whether voters are voting for candidates who have
  achieved a high GGI
• To rank or not to rank ranking creates media
  interest/controversies, but academics are more
  concerned with statistically significant
  differences
• Results show that election results are not in
  line with the GGI
• And we have received threatening letters from
  politicians

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• A Developing Country Perspective View from the
  Philippines

4. Hunger Index

• The NSCB developed a methodology for the
  construction of hunger index and the
  establishment of benchmark information on hunger,
  upon request of policymakers.
• Aims to provide an objective measure of the
  severity of hunger in the population
• Can be used to compare regions/provinces and
  pinpoint areas with severe hunger for purposes of
  identifying areas that require priority attention
  for hunger mitigation programs and services.

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• A Developing Country Perspective View from the
  Philippines

5. Climate change

• Developed the Philippine Framework for the
  Development of Environment Statistics (PFDES)
• Publication of the Compendium of Philippine
  Environment Statistics
• Developed a Statistical Framework and Indicator
  System in Measuring/Monitoring Climate Change
  Impacts but has not been populated with data

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• A Developing Country Perspective View from the
  Philippines

• Gender Statistics
• 6.1 Measurement of the economic contribution of
  women

• NSCB efforts to quantify the contribution of
  women in the economy, including unpaid work
• Goal is to develope a satellite account linked
  with the Philippine System of National Accounts
  (PSNA)
• Using heroic assumptions from Time Use Surveys,
  generated the following
• i) GDP/GNP by sex
• ii) Adjusted GDP/GNP by sex, accounting for the
  value of unpaid work

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• A Developing Country Perspective View from the
  Philippines

• Gender Statistics
• 6.2 Survey-based data on violence against women

• For the first time, the 2008 National Demographic
  and Health Survey (NDHS) included a separate
  module called the Womens Safety Module.
• Probes into womens experiences of violence,
  particularly on physical violence and sexual
  violence.
• Likewise, information was collected on spousal
  violence - covering all forms of VAW
• 1) physical violence
• 2) sexual violence
• 3) emotional violence and
• 4) economic violence
• Note The 3rd and 4th forms of VAW were grouped
  together in the survey as other forms of
  violence.

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• A Developing Country Perspective View from the
  Philippines

7. Development Indexes for Children by Life
Stages

• Funded by UNICEF
• Cognizant of the need for the countrys
  development agenda to prioritize policies and
  programs geared towards the development of
  children, the NSCB generated the following
• i) Child Development Index (CDI)
• ii) Rights-based CDI to stress the critical
  role of the duty bearers in
  the development of children and
• iii) CDI by life stages to capture the
  situation/challenges in the
  development of children.

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III. Some Premises/Some Questions/ Some
Answers/Some Challenges

• SOME PREMISES
• Official statisticians need to be relevant to all
  stakeholders statistics must be useful to
  society!
• Official statisticians should maintain a state
  of preparedness (Statistics Canada) to
  immediately and effectively respond to emerging
  needs/demands of stakeholders!
• Official statisticians need capacity building in
  the measurement of these emerging concerns
• National statistical systems lack/suffer from
  dwindling resources
• Official statisticians are still in a dilemma on
  our role in the measurement of well-being/happines
  s/governance, etc.

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III. Some Premises/Some Questions/ Some
Answers/Some Challenges

• SOME PREMISES
• There is increasing interest by the international
  community on the measurement of genuine progress
  of society
• Official statisticians have strong competition in
  the delivery of statistical products and services
• Google (CPI)
• Private sector information brokers
• Research institutions
• Even international organizations
• National statistical systems have the comparative
  advantage in institutionalizing and producing
  consistent time series of data points not only at
  the national but also at subnational levels
  versus the adhoc initiatives of competitors

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III. Some Premises/Some Questions/ Some
Answers/Some Challenges

• Some Questions
• Should official statisticians actively engage in
  the measurement of emerging concerns such as
  well-being/happiness/democratic governance/
  womens contribution to the economy? Is it our
  mandate?
• Should the UN Statistical Commission provide more
  specific policy guidance on the involvement of
  national statistical systems in these emerging
  areas of concern?
• Should the UN Statistics Division and other
  international bodies allocate more resources for
  methodological development, expert group
  meetings, creation of knowledge base, conduct of
  global fora, and capacity building in these
  emerging areas of concern?

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III. Some Premises/Some Questions/ Some
Answers/Some Challenges
SOME CHALLENGES TO DATA PRODUCERS/OFFICIAL
STATISTICIANS Challenge 1 Identification/Prior
itization and Institutionalization of the
innovative/emerging statistical framework to
ensure sustainability of efforts and maximize
return on investments in statistics Challenge
2 Choice of indicators is there social
progress when a society has high economic growth,
high life expectancy but also high suicide
rates? Challenge 3 Improved Statistical
Coordination within the national statistical
system to ensure that quality data support is
provided to the framework
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III. Some Premises/Some Questions/ Some
Answers/Some Challenges

• SOME CHALLENGES TO DATA PRODUCERS/OFFICIAL
  STATISTICIANS
• Challenge 4 Effective Statistical Information
  Management
• that will give life to the framework
• merging survey data files
• generating panel data
• linking survey and administrative records
  (Everaers and Van der Laan)
• Providing greater and easier public access to
  data
• Use of international standards (SDMX)

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III. Some Premises/Some Questions/ Some
Answers/Some Challenges

• SOME CHALLENGES TO DATA PRODUCERS/OFFICIAL
  STATISTICIANS
• Challenge 5 Effective/Adaptive Dissemination
  and Communication Strategies so that the
  framework will be appreciated and used in
  decision-making
• Use of visualization techniques/Hans Rossling
• Laymanize statistical reports
• Produce metadata
• Development of effective communication plan when
  introducing new/revising old statistical
  frameworks to maintain trust and credibility
• Challenge 6 Balancing supply and demand for
  statistics, amidst resource constraints, while
  maintaining a state of preparedness

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III. Some Premises/Some Questions/ Some
Answers/Some Challenges

• SOME CHALLENGES TO DATA PRODUCERS/OFFICIAL
  STATISTICIANS
• Challenge 7 Creating demand for our products
  and services
• Enhancing statistical literacy
• Statistical capacity building of users
• Managing user/stakeholder expectations
• Documenting actual policy uses
• Challenge 8 Getting policymakers to invest in
  statistics

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III. Some Premises/Some Questions/ Some
Answers/Some Challenges

• Some Questions
• Should official statisticians actively engage in
  the measurement of emerging concerns such as
  well-being/happiness/democratic governance/
  womens contribution to the economy? Is it our
  mandate?
• Should the UN Statistical Commission provide more
  specific policy guidance on the involvement of
  national statistical systems in these emerging
  areas of concern?
• Should the UN Statistics Division and other
  international bodies allocate more resources for
  methodological development, expert group
  meetings, creation of knowledge base, conduct of
  global fora, and capacity building in these
  emerging areas of concern?

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III. Some Premises/Some Questions/ Some
Answers/Some Challenges

• Some Answers
• YES
• YES
• YES
• TO ENHANCE OUR RELEVANCE, TO ENSURE OUR SURVIVAL!

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Thank you! URL http//www.nscb.gov.ph e-mail
info_at_nscb.gov.ph