International Comparison Program (ICP)

Overview of 2003 RoundWorkshop Goals and Objectives

Fred Vogel, Global Manager

Workshop Goals and Objectives

Establish global and regional responsibilities—who does whatAgree on timetableImplement Memoranda of UnderstandingReview technical issues for the ICPReview funding issuesTeam Building

Overview of the Agenda

Overview of the ICP—the big pictureManagement and coordinationThe expenditure aggregatesExpenditure weightsPricing conceptsBuilding the list

Goals

Clear understanding of roles and responsibilities of global, regional and national organizationsAgreement on timetable and activities to prepare for price collectionFoster open candid discussions

Basic Objectives of the ICP

Provide International Comparisons of GDP and Per Capita Expenditures

Why is this so Important?

Basic uses of official statisticsMake policy—who gets whatGuide investment decisionsEnhance competitive markets

Globalization of world economies requiring multilateral comparisonsIndividual countries no longer can operate in a vacuum

The Problem

Need to articulate uses of PPP’s beyond as a research toolNeed to establish credibility in resultsNeed to provide timely, consistent, defensible results

Framework proposals• Link the ICP with national statistical

activities (price collection, national accounts, household surveys);

• Build national statistical capacity and help with marginal costs;

• Provide competent coordination and governance at regional and global levels;

• Invest in research to address technical issues

The Scope—Expenditures and Prices

Up to 220 Basic HeadingsNeed expenditure weightsDescriptions of items and prices

Household Consumption— up to 140+

2-3,000 items make up pricing listsPrice 1,000 +/- items to obtain national, annual, average pricesItems must be comparable across countries, representative within

Problems-Previous Round

Who was in Charge?Not enough moneyInsufficient documentationInflexible list of items to priceLack of standards and proceduresDistrust-countries, regions, global levels

What’s New with this round of the ICP?

What’s New with this Round of the ICP?

Governance

Global Office

Tech Advisory

Group

AsiaPacific

LACCIS WestAsia

Africa

Council

Executive Board

Eurostat/OECD

What’s New with this Round of the ICP?

Research

Examples of Research Topics

Thirty years of Index Number TheoryStill debating

EKS vs. CPD for Basic Heading PPPsEKS vs. G-K to Aggregate

Difficult to apply Statistical Theory onNumber of items to price in a basic headingSelection of the items to be representative and comparableEstimation of National Annual Averages

What’s New?

Memorandum of Understanding

Policy regarding•Data Collection•Data submission•Data sharing and review

What’s New?

HandbookTool PackRe-design web site, newsletter

What’s New?

Project Plan—timeline

The timetable and work plan

Name Executive Board & MeetNominate Technical AdvisorsWrite New ICP HandbookPrepare MOUs with Regional and National CoordinatorsDevelop Data Sharing & Access PoliciesRedesign website

Feb 03Feb 03Mar 03Mar 03

Mar 03

May 03

More timetable and work planPrepare training materialsPrepare Basic heading list

Workshop with Regional ICP CoordinatorsRegional Coordinators meet with National Coordinators to begin preparing list of products to price

March 03March 03

March 03

May 03

More timetable

Price list for Ring ComparisonGlobal review of regional listsPrepare specs for Bills of Quantities, rents, equipmentAgreements with countries on computing National, Annual Average Prices

mid 03Oct 03Oct 03

Oct 03

More timetable and work plan

Final Product list prepared for regions and ring countriesTrain National Coordinators for price collection and Tool PackTranslate product listsPrice collection begins

Dec 03

Nov 03

Jan-Mar 03Apr 04

Overview of 2003 Round

Determine lowest level of GDP for which expenditure weights are availableDetermine items to price Collect Prices—2004—2005Data edit/analysis —2005Publish results—2006Evaluate process—2006Begin planning for next round--2007

What’s New?

Global Comparison—Ring Concept

Regional Vs Global Comparisons

Regional Vs Global ComparisonsAfrica

Asia

W.Asia CIS

LAC

Euro-OECD

Ring

Ring Country Concept

Latin AmericaAsiaWestern AfricaAfricaCISEuropeNon EU

Chile, Mexico, Brazil

Indonesia, India, KoreaEgypt, Oman

S. Africa, Ethiopia, Cote-d’IvoreRussia, KazakhstanAustria, UK, Portugal, SloveniaAustralia, USA, Canada

What’s New?

Concentration on the “Main Thing”

The main thing isThe main thing

Emphasis on Product ClassificationWhat to PriceHow many to priceWhere to priceData Analysis, Quality controlExpenditure weights

Guiding Principles

TransparencyOpen DialogueDocument Decisions

TimelinessEarly Warning CapabilitiesAbide by time tables

SimplicityMinimize Bureaucratic requirementsEnsure Transparency and Timeliness

Guiding Principles

DefensibleStatistical Practices Clear and Explainable

SustainableIntegrate ICP & National Statistics Programs

AvailabilityBetween countries within regionsBetween countries and regional coordinator

Requirements

Time: only 390 days before price collection begins April 1, 2004

People: Experience with prices and national accounts

Money: Equipment, data collection, travel, training

Thanks for Listening

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