IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/iza/izadps/dp16745.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Reviewing Assessment Tools for Measuring Country Statistical Capacity

Author

Listed:
  • Dang, Hai-Anh H

    (World Bank)

  • Pullinger, John

    (Office for National Statistics, UK)

  • Serajuddin, Umar

    (World Bank)

  • Stacy, Brian

    (World Bank)

Abstract

Country statistical capacity is increasingly recognized as crucial for development, but no academic study exists that reviews the available assessment tools. We offer the first review study that fills this gap, paying particular attention to data and practical measurement challenges. We compare the World Bank's recently developed Statistical Performance Indicators and Index (SPI) with other widely used indexes such as the Open Data Inventory index (ODIN), the Global Data Barometer index (GDB), and other regional and self-assessment tools. We find that the indexes bring their own advantages regarding their data sources, number of indicators, measurement focus, coverage of country and time periods, and correlation with common development indexes. Specifically, the ODIN covers most countries, the GDB collects data through its surveys, and the SPI offers clearer mathematical foundations and somewhat stronger correlation with Sustainable Development Goals indicators. We offer further thoughts on the potential mechanisms through which these tools can bring positive impacts on economic activities and some political economy concerns, as well as future directions of development.

Suggested Citation

  • Dang, Hai-Anh H & Pullinger, John & Serajuddin, Umar & Stacy, Brian, 2024. "Reviewing Assessment Tools for Measuring Country Statistical Capacity," IZA Discussion Papers 16745, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    • Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp16745
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://docs.iza.org/dp16745.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Satya R. Chakravarty & Conchita D’Ambrosio, 2019. "The Measurement of Social Exclusion," Themes in Economics, in: Satya R. Chakravarty (ed.), Poverty, Social Exclusion and Stochastic Dominance, pages 167-189, Springer.
    2. Hartmann, Dominik & Guevara, Miguel R. & Jara-Figueroa, Cristian & Aristarán, Manuel & Hidalgo, César A., 2017. "Linking Economic Complexity, Institutions, and Income Inequality," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 93(C), pages 75-93.
    3. Steffen Fritz & Linda See & Tyler Carlson & Mordechai (Muki) Haklay & Jessie L. Oliver & Dilek Fraisl & Rosy Mondardini & Martin Brocklehurst & Lea A. Shanley & Sven Schade & Uta Wehn & Tommaso Abrate, 2019. "Author Correction: Citizen science and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals," Nature Sustainability, Nature, vol. 2(11), pages 1063-1063, November.
    4. Steffen Fritz & Linda See & Tyler Carlson & Mordechai (Muki) Haklay & Jessie L. Oliver & Dilek Fraisl & Rosy Mondardini & Martin Brocklehurst & Lea A. Shanley & Sven Schade & Uta Wehn & Tommaso Abrate, 2019. "Citizen science and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals," Nature Sustainability, Nature, vol. 2(10), pages 922-930, October.
    5. Grant J. Cameron & Hai‐Anh H. Dang & Mustafa Dinc & James Foster & Michael M. Lokshin, 2021. "Measuring the Statistical Capacity of Nations," Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Department of Economics, University of Oxford, vol. 83(4), pages 870-896, August.
    6. Edward B. Barbier & Joanne C. Burgess, 2021. "Economics of the SDGs," Springer Books, Springer, number 978-3-030-78698-4, February.
    7. Kubota,Megumi & Zeufack,Albert G., 2020. "Assessing the Returns on Investment in Data Openness and Transparency," Policy Research Working Paper Series 9139, The World Bank.
    8. J. Vernon Henderson & Adam Storeygard & David N. Weil, 2012. "Measuring Economic Growth from Outer Space," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 102(2), pages 994-1028, April.
    9. Roberto Aragão & Lukas Linsi, 2022. "Many shades of wrong: what governments do when they manipulate statistics," Review of International Political Economy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 29(1), pages 88-113, January.
    10. Azevedo,Joao Pedro Wagner De, 2020. "Learning Poverty : Measures and Simulations," Policy Research Working Paper Series 9446, The World Bank.
    11. Andy Sumner & Eduardo Ortiz-Juarez & Christopher Hoy, 2022. "Measuring global poverty before and during the pandemic: a political economy of overoptimism," Third World Quarterly, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 43(1), pages 1-17, January.
    12. Judith G. Kelley & Beth A. Simmons, 2015. "Politics by Number: Indicators as Social Pressure in International Relations," American Journal of Political Science, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 59(1), pages 55-70, January.
    13. Alkire, Sabina & Foster, James, 2011. "Counting and multidimensional poverty measurement," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 95(7), pages 476-487.
    14. Noam Angrist & Pinelopi Koujianou Goldberg & Dean Jolliffe, 2021. "Why Is Growth in Developing Countries So Hard to Measure?," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 35(3), pages 215-242, Summer.
    15. Birk Diedenhofen & Jochen Musch, 2015. "cocor: A Comprehensive Solution for the Statistical Comparison of Correlations," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 10(4), pages 1-12, April.
    16. Hu, Yingyao & Yao, Jiaxiong, 2022. "Illuminating economic growth," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 228(2), pages 359-378.
    17. Martine Durand, 2015. "The OECD Better Life Initiative: How's Life? and the Measurement of Well-Being," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 61(1), pages 4-17, March.
    18. Diane Coyle, 2015. "GDP: A Brief but Affectionate History (Revised and Expanded Edition)," Economics Books, Princeton University Press, edition 2, number 10598.
    19. Antonio Savoia & Kunal Sen, 2015. "Measurement, Evolution, Determinants, And Consequences Of State Capacity: A Review Of Recent Research," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(3), pages 441-458, July.
    20. Manuel Oechslin & Elias Steiner, 2022. "Statistical capacity and corrupt bureaucracies," The Review of International Organizations, Springer, vol. 17(1), pages 143-174, January.
    21. Dimitri Sanga & Bakary Dosso & Steve Gui‐Diby, 2011. "Tracking Progress Towards Statistical Capacity Building Efforts: The African Statistical Development Index," International Statistical Review, International Statistical Institute, vol. 79(3), pages 303-329, December.
    22. Derrick M. Anderson & Andrew B. Whitford, 2017. "Developing Knowledge States: Technology and the Enhancement of National Statistical Capacity," Review of Policy Research, Policy Studies Organization, vol. 34(3), pages 400-420, June.
    23. Sampawende J.‐A. Tapsoba & Codjo Neree Noumon & Robert C. York, 2017. "Can Statistical Capacity Building Help Reduce Procyclical Fiscal Policy?," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 29(4), pages 407-430, May.
    24. A. Atkinson, 2003. "Multidimensional Deprivation: Contrasting Social Welfare and Counting Approaches," The Journal of Economic Inequality, Springer;Society for the Study of Economic Inequality, vol. 1(1), pages 51-65, April.
    25. Luis R. Martínez, 2022. "How Much Should We Trust the Dictator’s GDP Growth Estimates?," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 130(10), pages 2731-2769.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Dang, Hai Anh H. & Jolliffe, Dean & Serajuddin, Umar & Stacy, Brian, 2024. "Country statistical capacity: a recent assessment tool and further reflections on the way forward," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 124060, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Dang, Hai Anh H. & Jolliffe, Dean & Serajuddin, Umar & Stacy, Brian, 2024. "Country statistical capacity: a recent assessment tool and further reflections on the way forward," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 124060, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    2. Grant J. Cameron & Hai‐Anh H. Dang & Mustafa Dinc & James Foster & Michael M. Lokshin, 2021. "Measuring the Statistical Capacity of Nations," Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Department of Economics, University of Oxford, vol. 83(4), pages 870-896, August.
    3. Shapiro, Daniel & Oh, Chang Hoon & Zhang, Peng, 2023. "Nighttime lights data and their implications for IB research," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 29(5).
    4. Dang, Hai-Anh H. & Serajuddin, Umar, 2020. "Tracking the sustainable development goals: Emerging measurement challenges and further reflections," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 127(C).
    5. Mariateresa Ciommi & Ernesto Savaglio, 2015. "On multidimensional diversity orderings with categorical variables," Department of Economics University of Siena 711, Department of Economics, University of Siena.
    6. Sabina Alkire & James Foster, 2011. "Understandings and misunderstandings of multidimensional poverty measurement," The Journal of Economic Inequality, Springer;Society for the Study of Economic Inequality, vol. 9(2), pages 289-314, June.
    7. Sabina Alkire, Mauricio Apablaza, 2016. "Multidimensional Poverty in Europe 2006-2012: Illustrating a Methodology," OPHI Working Papers 74, Queen Elizabeth House, University of Oxford.
    8. Rolf Aaberge & Eugenio Peluso & Henrik Sigstad, 2015. "The dual approach for measuring. Multidimesional deprivation and poverty," Discussion Papers 820, Statistics Norway, Research Department.
    9. Pinar, Mehmet & Stengos, Thanasis & Topaloglou, Nikolas, 2020. "On the construction of a feasible range of multidimensional poverty under benchmark weight uncertainty," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 281(2), pages 415-427.
    10. Oznur Ozdamar & Eleftherios Giovanis, 2019. "Youth Multidimensional Poverty and Its Dynamics: Evidence From Selected Countries In The Mena Region," Working Papers 1339, Economic Research Forum, revised 21 Aug 2019.
    11. Suman Seth and Gaston Yalonetzky, 2018. "Assessing Deprivation with Ordinal Variables: Depth Sensitivity and Poverty Aversion," OPHI Working Papers ophiwp123.pdf, Queen Elizabeth House, University of Oxford.
    12. Udaya Wagle, 2014. "The Counting-Based Measurement of Multidimensional Poverty: The Focus on Economic Resources, Inner Capabilities, and Relational Resources in the United States," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 115(1), pages 223-240, January.
    13. Mateusz Piwowarski & Danuta Miłaszewicz & Małgorzata Łatuszyńska & Mariusz Borawski & Kesra Nermend, 2018. "Application of the Vector Measure Construction Method and Technique for Order Preference by Similarity Ideal Solution for the Analysis of the Dynamics of Changes in the Poverty Levels in the European ," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(8), pages 1-24, August.
    14. Castellano, Rosalia & Chelli, Francesco M. & Ciommi, Mariateresa & Musella, Gaetano & Punzo, Gennaro & Salvati, Luca, 2020. "Trahit sua quemque voluptas. The multidimensional satisfaction of foreign tourists visiting Italy," Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 70(C).
    15. Roberto Dell'Anno & Adalgiso Amendola, 2015. "Social Exclusion and Economic Growth: An Empirical Investigation in European Economies," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 61(2), pages 274-301, June.
    16. Udaya S. Mishra & Vachaspati Shukla, 2016. "Welfare Comparisons with Multidimensional Well-Being Indicators: An Indian Illustration," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 129(2), pages 505-525, November.
    17. Valérie Bérenger, 2017. "Using ordinal variables to measure multidimensional poverty in Egypt and Jordan," The Journal of Economic Inequality, Springer;Society for the Study of Economic Inequality, vol. 15(2), pages 143-173, June.
    18. Suman Seth & Maria Emma Santos, 2019. "On the Interaction Between Focus and Distributional Properties in Multidimensional Poverty Measurement," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 145(2), pages 503-521, September.
    19. Deutsch, Joseph & Silber, Jacques & Wan, Guanghua & Zhao, Mengxue, 2020. "Asset indexes and the measurement of poverty, inequality and welfare in Southeast Asia," Journal of Asian Economics, Elsevier, vol. 70(C).
    20. Aristondo, Oihana & Onaindia, Eneritz, 2018. "Counting energy poverty in Spain between 2004 and 2015," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 113(C), pages 420-429.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    statistical capacity; statistical performance; statistical indicators; statistical capacity index; national statistical system;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C8 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Data Collection and Data Estimation Methodology; Computer Programs
    • H00 - Public Economics - - General - - - General
    • I00 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - General - - - General
    • O1 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp16745. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Holger Hinte (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/izaaade.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.