Research Papers

Dissemination
Standards
Bulletin Board

Reviews of the Fund's Data Standards' Initiatives (Reviews)

Special Data Dissemination Standard Site (SDDS)

General Data Dissemination System Site (GDDS)

Data Quality Reference Site (DQRS)

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Dissemination Standards Bulletin Board
Research on the Special Data Dissemination Standard and General Data Dissemination System

The latest paper for discussion titled "Assessing the General Data Dissemination Sytem (GDDS) - What Has Been Accomplished After Ten Years, and Where Do We Go from Here?", prepared by the Statistics Department on January 11, 2008, can be found on the DSBB home page.

Papers and reports on the IMF’s Special Data Dissemination Standard and the General Data Dissemination System are described and referenced below.

The IMF’s Data Dissemination Initiative After Ten Years
Alexander, William E., Cady, John, Gonzalez-Garcia, Jesus
September 12, 2007

The Data Dissemination Initiative was launched in the mid-1990s as part of a broader internationally-agreed-upon initiative to strengthen transparency and promote good governance practices by establishing standards and codes. Ten years later, the initiative is viewed as an integral part of the international financial architecture, and is considered to have improved the functioning of international financial markets and contributed to global financial stability. This volume reviews certain aspects of the development of and experience with the initiative over the past decade, and concludes by reflecting on potential challenges ahead and possible enhancements.

Institutional Arrangements for Producing Macroeconomic Statistics in Countries Subscribing to the Special Data Dissemination Standard (SDDS): Claudia Dziobek and Florina Tanase. International Conference on Statistical Systems for Small Economies

Basseterre, St. Kitts and Nevis, September 5-7, 2007

Summary: The paper presents the results of a survey of the institutional arrangements for producing official macroeconomic statistics. The survey covers 41 countries subscribing to the IMF’s Special Data Dissemination Standard (SDDS)—with well-developed national statistical systems. It demonstrates the prevalence of multiple institutional responsibilities for producing macroeconomic datasets with an overall lead role for the national statistical agency. Most data-producing agencies work within well-defined legal frameworks, an important basis for integrity and professional independence of statistical agencies.

Institutional Cooperation Between Central Banks and the Statistical Offices for Producing Macroeconomic Statistics: Claudia Dziobek and Florina Tanase. International Conference on Statistical Systems for Small Economies

Basseterre, St. Kitts and Nevis, September 5-7, 2007

The IMF's Reserves Template and Nominal Exchange Rate Volatility,
John Cady and Jesus Gonzalez-Garcia, IMF Staff Papers Volume 54, Number 4, 2007.

Summary: The effects of the adoption of the IMF’s International Reserves and Foreign Currency Liquidity Data Template on exchange rate volatility are investigated for 48 countries using panel data models and quarterly data from 1991 to 2005. In a model featuring significant relationships between nominal exchange rate volatility and fundamental macroeconomic variables, we find that the adoption of the reserves data dissemination standard is associated with a 20 percent decrease in volatility. Furthermore, adoption of the standard is also associated with changes in the relationships between exchange rate volatility and both indebtedness and reserve adequacy indicators.

IMF Data Standards Initiatives—A Consultative Approach to Enhancing Global Data Transparency, Anne Y. Kester, IMF Working Paper No. 06/102; April 1, 2006

Summary: Since the IMF launched the data standards initiatives a decade ago, 145 of its 184 member countries have participated. This 80 percent participation rate reaffirms the importance countries place on data transparency in the globalized economy, which the initiatives promote. The wide participation can be attributed to the consultative process that has allowed for the development of a coherent program that takes account of countries’ capabilities, delineates clear responsibilities between the IMF and participating countries, and establishes effective monitoring procedures to ensure the credibility of the standards for policymakers, capital markets, and the general public. The approach has also provided checks and balances and fostered accountability. The initiatives may provide insights for the promotion of similar international standards.

Sovereign Borrowing Cost and the IMF’s Data Standards Initiatives:
John Cady and Anthony Pellechio, IMF Working Paper No. 06/78; March 1, 2006

Summary: The effects of the IMF’s data standards initiatives on sovereign borrowing costs in private capital markets are investigated for 26 emerging market and developing countries. Stable and significant panel econometric estimates indicate that subscription to the Special Data Dissemination Standard reduces launch spreads by an average of 20 percent while participation in the General Data Dissemination System reduces spreads for those countries with access to capital markets by an average of 8 percent. These estimates correspond to discounts of some 50 and 20 basis points, respectively. Evidence of similar discounts is also found when launch yields are analyzed.

Does SDDS Subscription Reduce Borrowing Costs for Emerging Market Economies? John Cady, IMF Staff Papers - Volume 52, Number 3, 2005

Summary: Does macroeconomic data transparency—as signaled by subscription to the IMF’s Special Data Dissemination Standard—help reduce borrowing costs in international capital markets? This question is examined using data on new issues of sovereign foreign-currency-denominated (U.S. dollar, yen, and euro) bonds for several emerging market economies. Panel econometric estimates indicate that spreads on new bond issues declined on average by close to 20 percent, or by an average of about 55 basis points for sample countries, following SDDS subscription.

Revisions Policy for Official Statistics: A Matter of Governance, Carol S. Carson, Sarmad Khawaja, and Thomas K. Morrison, IMF Working Paper 04/87, May 1, 2004

Summary: This paper proposes a set of good practices for the revision of macroeconomic data. The authors argue that revisions are a routine part of disseminating quality data. Revisions are made not just to correct errors but also to incorporate better source data, update base periods, and make other improvements. It is argued, using country examples and views from policymakers and other users, that national statistical agencies should have explicit revisions policies.

Adjusting the Special Data Dissemination Standard Requirements for the Fiscal Sector (Prepared by the Statistics Department) June 25, 2003

Summary: This paper provides the rationale for the proposed addition of a targeted timeliness flexibility option to the SDDS requirements for the central government operations (CGO) data. The proposal aims to address the problem that the current prescription, monthly CGO data with timeliness of one month, serves as an impediment to achieving the data quality improvements. These occur as subscribers move towards the compilation of fiscal statistics according to international best practice as set forth in the GFSM 2001 or an equivalent standard.

Is Transparency Good for You, and Can the IMF Help? Glennerster, Rachel, and Yongseok Shin, 2003, IMF Working Paper 03/132 (Washington: International Monetary Fund).

Summary: This paper finds that reforms introduced by the IMF to promote transparency have created more informed markets and reduced borrowing costs for those emerging market countries that volunteered for them. Using a quarterly panel estimation with fixed country effects, we find that sovereign spreads fall following the adoption of three different transparency reforms. The effects are economically important, especially for those countries with low initial transparency. We use two-stage least squares to address any endogenous effect in the timing of reforms exploiting internal IMF timetables that are unrelated to country events. Next, using a panel GARCH specification, we show that spreads move more than normal in the days immediately following publication of IMF country documents.

The Link Between Adherence to International Standards of Good Practice, Foreign Exchange Spreads, and Ratings, Christofides, Charalambos, Christian Mulder, and Andrew Tiffin, 2003, IMF Working Paper 03/74 (Washington: International Monetary Fund).

Summary: This paper examines the relationship between adherence to international standards of good practice in policy-making and two key indicators of access to capital markets and the cost of this access: spreads and sovereign ratings. In contrast to other work, this study reviews a broad set of indicators for adherence to international standards. The estimations are conducted for emerging market economies, and pay particular attention to issues of persistence in spreads and ratings and nonlinearities in the relationships. The main finding confirms the expectation that standards are indeed relevant. Accounting standards and property rights are especially important for spreads, in addition to data transparency (SDDS subscription). Accounting standards and corruption are especially important in explaining ratings in addition to trade protectiveness (not a standard).