Global value chains pose new challenges for statisticians as they work to produce timely, relevant and reliable official statistics and indicators on globalization and its impact on jobs and economic growth.

The heterogeneity of strategic actors (enterprises) in globalization processes are not fully reflected in the traditional statistical systems. Averaged national data mask underlying differences among sub-national regions, each with their own strengths and weaknesses. Enterprises differ not only in many aspects of their characteristics and performance, but also in terms of their role in regional, national and international business networks. Within the international statistical community a broad range of initiatives are underway to address these data gaps. The common thread is a focus on the features, the dynamics and the impact of global value chains (GVC) at the level of the enterprise and enterprise groups.

This session focuses on several aspects of this work, highlighting different theoretical and methodological perspectives as well as micro and macro perspectives. The main themes are the classification and measurement of business functions using Eurostat’s new Global Value Chain survey, and the OECD-WTO trade-in-value-added initiative (TiVA) that combines supply-use tables from many countries with data on international trade to create a range of new indicators, including e.g. a split between the domestic (direct and indirect) and foreign (imported) value added content of exports. The methodological implications of measuring international trade and economic globalization are reflected in the work of the UN Friends of the Chair group and the UNECE Guide for measuring Global Production. Finally empirical results and best practices from the Eurostat project on Micro Data Linking 2014/2015 will be presented.

UNSD will present on Asymmetries, Micro-Data Linking and Business Registers. A better understanding of economic interconnectedness of countries is needed based on a better understanding of a country’s position inside global value chains. Ideally, a country needs to understand the specific contributions other countries are making to production networks involving their own domestic firms. To achieve this, large bilateral asymmetries in international trade statistics have to be systematically checked and resolved. Building a system of integrated business and trade statistics, which spans across a number of countries, and which links country data as building blocks of multi-country supply and use tables, requires that bilateral trade statistics are harmonized and balanced. Moreover, an enhanced understanding of foreign affiliates at home and abroad is crucial to better informing policymakers, especially given the growing dominance of multinational enterprises in global value chains and the growing contribution of services. In that regard, a broader set of statistics on multinational enterprises is needed. This dataset should be based on the micro-data linking of trade and investment statistics with the national and – if possible – global business registers.

Business statistics are the cornerstone of any short-term and structural economic information system and provide a consistent framework for the assessment of a country’s economic activity in an increasingly interconnected global economy based on knowledge, innovation technology and efficiency. In addition, a number of recent emerging initiatives, such as the 2030 Development Agenda, on the measurement of sustainability, social progress and well-being have raised the need for coherent and consistent business statistics to shed light on the complex relationship between the economy, the society and the environment. In that context, mainstreaming and streamlining business statistics would definitely contribute to the monitoring of progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and in particular for Promoting sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all (Goal 8), and Building resilient infrastructure, promoting inclusive and sustainable industrialization and fostering innovation (Goal 9).

Most countries compile their respective business statistics through integrated establishment surveys based on comprehensive and regularly updated statistical business registers, and complemented by secondary data sources, such as administrative data. The latter allows for the reduction of the burden on respondent and is widely used for the validation and imputation of data collected through statistical surveys. Administrative data also contributes to improving the coverage and accuracy of business registers. If most advanced national statistical systems are gradually producing business statistics mainly, if not exclusively, from secondary data sources, less developed countries are still struggling with the viscous circle of deficient administrative recording systems, incomplete and inconsistent business registers and large scale establishment surveys or economic censuses.

This session will allow four low/middle income countries to share their respective initiatives for the improvement and modernisation of business statistics through the development and implementation of original and innovative methodologies and tools but also to present the outstanding challenges in the production of coherent and consistent business statistics. The discussions after the presentations will allow bilateral and multilateral stakeholders to assess the need for technical cooperation and assistance. Conclusions and outcome of the session will complement information collected through Regional Conferences in the framework of the Global Initiative on a Transformative Agenda for Official Statistics and thus support the development of guidelines on integrated business statistics and related roadmaps for modernisation of statistics.