Italy has been a subscriber to the Special Data Dissemination Standard (SDDS) since August 1996 and met SDDS requirements for its posted metadata in April 2000.. The International Monetary Fund (IMF), in 2007, released a Report on the Observance of Standards and Codes (ROSC) on Italy's data module, in which it notes that Italy meets the SDDS' specifications for coverage, periodicity, timeliness, and the dissemination of advance release calendars. However, as noted in the above report and on the IMF's SDDS website, for data on production index and central government operations, Italy avails itself of the timeliness flexibility option. According to a 2007 annual observance report by the IMF, in 2007, Italy met the SDDS requirement on advance release calendars for all months except December. With regards to its integrity dimension, the SDDS website indicates that Italy falls short of its requirements in some respects. For example, Italy's metadata page on the IMF's SDDS website does not provide information on the identification of ministerial commentary for statistical releases for several data categories. Similarly, for a few data categories, Italy only provides notice of major changes in methodology at the time of release and not in advance as required by the SDDS. The 2007 ROSC which assessed the quality of Italian data on national accounts, the consumer price index, the producer price index, and government finance statistics concludes that the data is generally of good quality. Similarly, according to the IMF's 2006 Article IV report, Italy's economic data is generally of high quality and adequate for surveillance purposes. The metadata published by Italy on the IMF's SDDS website also indicates that Italy generally meets both requirements of the SDDS' quality dimension with a few exceptions.

General Overview

Italy has been a subscriber to the International Monetary Fund's (IMF) Special Data Dissemination Standard (SDDS) since August 1996 and met SDDS requirements for its posted metadata in April 2000. According to the SDDS website, the country provides summary methodologies for all requisite data categories. The "Statistical Annex" of the IMF's 2006 Article IV Consultation report (published in 2007) notes that "Italy's economic database is comprehensive and of generally high quality" (p. 39). The IMF's SDDS website and a 2007 report by the IMF titled "Italy: Annual Observance Report of the Special Data Dissemination Standard for 2007" note that the country meets or exceeds the SDDS standards for coverage of its data. In addition, Italy also meets the SDDS requirements for timeliness and periodicity for all data categories. However, Italy avails itself of the timeliness flexibility option for data on production index and central government operations. With regards to the integrity dimension, the 2007 IMF report states that "during 2007, Italy met the SDDS requirements for [metadata] certification for most quarters except for the third quarter [which was submitted with] a short delay" (p. 7). Metadata certification involves subscribers certifying every calendar quarter that the information posted on the IMF's Dissemination Standards Bulletin Board (DSBB) is correct and update metadata the subscriber deems incorrect at the certification time.

As stipulated under Legislative Decree No. 322 of 1989, the National Institute of Statistics (Istat) is at the center of the National Statistical System (SISTAN). According to the IMF's 2002 ROSC, the main agencies responsible for the compilation and dissemination of the SDDS prescribed data categories are the Istat, which compiles and disseminates data on the national accounts, production index, labor market, price indices, merchandise trade, and population; the Bank of Italy (BoI), which is responsible for the analytical accounts of the banking sector, the analytical accounts of the central bank, interest rates, and the data template on international reserves and foreign currency liquidity; the Italian Foreign Exchange Office (UIC), which together with the BoI disseminate balance of payments and the international investment position data; and the Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF), which is responsible for data on central government operations and central government debt. However, the 2007 ROSC notes that now the Istat has the prime responsibility for disseminating general government statistics to the public. However, the 2007 ROSC also notes that "the responsibility for compiling and disseminating a comprehensive and integrated set of general government statistics remains to be specified" (p. 4) [and] "the legal and institutional environment of the MEF broadly supports its responsibility for the compilation and dissemination of data on budget execution" (p. 9).

According to the 2002 ROSC, the Istat, the BoI and the UIC maintain a high degree of professionalism. The compilation of statistics by these agencies is impartial and supported by statutory provisions as well as long traditions of independence and professionalism. Similarly, the report notes that the MEF appears to be free from political and other influences in choosing the sources and methods for data dissemination. The choice of sources and methods are in accordance with statistical considerations, including those agreed in appropriate European-level committees in which these agencies participate. Per the 2007 ROSC "Legislative Decree No. 322/1989 and subsequent legislation, especially the legislation under which Istat was reorganized in 2000, provides a sound legal and institutional environment for Istat's activities, supports data sharing and coordination among statistics producing agencies, calls for protection of the confidentiality of individual responses, and contains legal provisions for statistical reporting" (p. 8).

The Principles

Comprehensive economic and financial data, disseminated on a timely basis.

FC

The 2007 IMF ROSC indicates that Italy has been in observance of the SDDS requirements for coverage, periodicity, and timeliness for all data sets. The IMF's SDDS website and the 2007 IMF observance report also confirm this finding. However, for data on production index and central government operations, Italy avails itself of the timeliness flexibility option.

Ready and equal access to official statistics.

FC

Information provided on the IMF's SDDS website by Italy indicates that the country fulfils all SDDS requirements for the access dimension. The country disseminates advance release calendars (ARC) and data are released simultaneously to all interested parties. According to the 2007 annual observance report, in 2007, Italy provided ARCs for all months except December.

Official statistics must have the confidence of their users. Transparency of its practices and procedures is a key factor.

CP

With regards to the integrity dimension, the 2007 IMF report states that "during 2007, Italy met the SDDS requirements for [metadata] certification for most quarters except for the third quarter [which was submitted with] a short delay" (p. 7). Metadata certification involves subscribers certifying every calendar quarter that the information posted on the IMF's DSBB is correct and update metadata the subscriber deems incorrect at the certification time. The SDDS website indicates that Italy falls short of its requirements on integrity in some respects. For example, Italy's metadata page on the IMF's SDDS website does not provide information on the identification of ministerial commentary for statistical releases for several data categories. Similarly, for a few data categories, Italy only provides notice of major changes in methodology at the time of release and not in advance as required by the SDDS. However, the 2002 ROSC notes that compilation of statistics by the Istat, the BoI and the UIC are impartial and supported by statutory provisions as well as long traditions of independence and professionalism.

A set of standards that deals with the coverage, periodicity and timeliness of data must also address the quality of statistics.

CP

According to the IMF's 2007 annual observance report "during 2007, Italy provided available information on the methodology, sources, and reconciliation of data categories in [the] Data Quality Assessment Framework that would facilitate users to assess the quality of the data" (p. 7). Information on the IMF's SDDS website also indicates that Italy generally meets both requirements of the SDDS' quality dimension with a few exceptions. For example, for data on share price index, international reserves, merchandise trade, and external debt there is no mention of statistical frameworks that support statistical cross-checks on the SDDS website. However, the IMF's 2006 Article IV Consultation report notes that "Italy's economic database is comprehensive and of generally high quality" (p. 39). Similarly, 2007 ROSC which assessed the quality of Italian data on national accounts, the consumer price index, the producer price index, and government finance statistics concludes that the data is generally of good quality.