Description: This course, presented by the Statistics Department, focuses on the conceptual framework of public sector debt statistics as presented in the Government Finance Statistics Manual 2014 (GFSM 2014) and the Public Sector Debt Statistics: Guide for Compilers and Users 2011 (PSDSG 2011). The course requires that participants be familiar with the basic government finance statistics (GFS) and PSDS framework and classification system. Emphasizing the integration of stock positions and flows in the framework, the course addresses more complex issues regarding the: - definition of gross and net debt in terms of debt instruments; - coverage and sectorization of the public sector, with special attention to borderline and complex cases; - valuation of public sector debt statistics; and - consolidation of public sector debt statistics. In addition, the course addresses complex cross-cutting PSDS issues, such as government employee pension liabilities, standardized guarantee schemes, contracts, leases, licenses, public-private partnerships, and the balance sheet approach (BSA) to identify risks and vulnerabilities. The format is lectures and discussions.
Description: This course, presented by the Institute for Capacity Development, gives government officials a rigorous foundation in the estimation of macro-econometric models and their application for nowcasting, forecasting, and policy analysis in central banks, ministries, and public research institutions. The course examines univariate and multivariate econometric time series models, state-space models, and nowcasting techniques as Factor, BRIDGE, and MIDAS models. Each topic includes a lecture that discusses the underlying theory and a workshop with applications using EViews. Participants work in groups on hands-on estimation and forecasting exercises.
Description: This course, presented by the Statistics Department, covers theoretical and practical aspects in the compilation of national accounts statistics based on the conceptual framework of the System of National Accounts 2008 (2008 SNA). The course consists of lectures covering advanced methodological and compilation issues of the 2008 SNA and workshops consisting of practical exercises in compiling the accounts. The main aim of the course is to train participants in developing and using more advanced compilation techniques in areas including supply and use tables (SUTs), input-output tables, price and volume measures, and thematic satellite accounts. The course starts with SNA framework and will discuss how these accounts can be extended to address specific user needs. The main lectures and workshops include: Conceptual framework of the SNA; Output of specific industries; SUTs and input-outputs tables; Price and volume measurement; Estimating consumption of fixed capital; and Thematic satellite accounts, with a focus on topics covered in the update of the 2008 SNA (e.g., informal economy, labor accounts).Emphasis is also placed on sharing country experiences among the participants.
Target Audience: Compilers of national accounts statistics employed by agencies responsible for official national accounts statistics.
Description: This course, presented by the Statistics Department, focuses on the conceptual framework of government finance statistics (GFS) as presented in the Government Finance Statistics Manual 2014 (GFSM 2014), with an emphasis on new concepts introduced in GFSM 2014. The course requires that participants are familiar with the basic GFS framework and classification system. Emphasizing the integrated GFS framework, the course addresses complex cross-cutting GFS issues, such as social protection, government employee pension liabilities, standardized guarantee schemes, contracts, leases, licenses, public-private partnerships, and public sector balance sheets. It also examines coverage of the public sector, giving special attention to borderline and complex cases. The course discusses internal and intersectoral data consistency, coordination between data-producing agencies, as well as data presentation and communication with users. The format is lectures and discussions.
Description: This course, presented by the Statistics Department, targets compilers with a certain degree of experience in the compilation and/or analysis of balance of payments and/or IIP. It aims at providing a deep understanding of the concepts, data sources and compilation techniques for balance of payments and IIP statistics and their application for addressing complex methodological issues. The course does not cover the basic balance of payments and IIP concepts. The intermediate level of the course presupposes participants’ familiarity with the basic concepts.The course consists of a series of lectures and workshops analyzing country cases with a strong data component and to allow peer learning and sharing of experiences. Recognizing the challenges in compiling data in emerging areas of user interest, the course emphasizes specific topics, such as estimating informal cross border activities and the treatment of special purpose entities. The course examines themes and challenges emerging from developments in global economy, and participants have the opportunity to discuss how these impact compilation work. Specific exercises are geared to integrating data compilation with Fund surveillance and policy advice; and to demonstrate the analytical uses of ESS.
Description: This course, conducted by the Statistics Department, presents a user-friendly tool developed by the department to automatically combine monetary, government, and international investment position data reported to the Statistics Department to create a distribution of claims and liabilities on a from-whom-to-whom basis—an extremely useful tool for macro-financial analysis. Once the matrix is generated, country officials should be able to use the Balance Sheet Approach (BSA) analysis to focus on overall balance sheet linkages and identify specific exposures and vulnerabilities, such as excessive reliance on external funding, leverage buildup in the corporate sector, and overreliance on the banking sector for sovereign debt placement.
Target Audience: Officials at central banks, ministries of finance and other agencies in charge of compiling monetary and financial statistics, government finance/debt statistics, and external sector statistics; and/or overseeing macro-financial analysis.
Description: This course, presented by the Statistics Department, introduces the fundamentals of compiling monetary statistics, with special attention to other financial corporations (OFCs). It also gives an overview of financial statistics and national accounts. The course material is based on the Monetary and Financial Statistics Manual and Compilation Guide (MFSMCG). Although the course summarizes the main principles underlying the compilation of monetary statistics, it assumes participants already understand these principles (e.g., having participated in the MFS-I course). The core of the course deals with characteristics of various OFCs (insurance corporations, pension funds, non-MMF investment funds, etc.), their typical balance sheet structure, and their role in the financial sector. The course also covers some aspects of financial statistics, dealing with financial flows and stocks of all sectors of the domestic economy and their interactions with the rest of the world; the balance sheet approach to vulnerability analysis; and the relationships between monetary, balance of payments, government finance, and national accounts statistics. The course consists of lectures and case studies to familiarize participants with practical aspects of compiling monetary statistics for OFCs and the basic principles underlying the compilation of national accounts. At the end of the course, participants are expected to make a short presentation on monetary statistics compilation issues in their own countries.
Target Audience: Central bank officials and officials from regulatory agencies responsible for compiling monetary statistics.
Description: This course, presented by the IMF Statistics Department, is intended to provide participants with a thorough understanding of the international standards for the compilation of EDS presented in the 2013 EDS: Guide for Compilers and Users (2013 EDS Guide). It also offers practical compilation guidance on data sources and techniques for compiling EDS, as well as on analysis of these data, taking into account the relevant developments in the global financial market. It comprises a series of lectures, practical exercises, and case studies that cover: Recent developments in the global financial market (e.g., process of disintermediation, moving away from traditional cross-border investment vehicles, etc.) and their effect on EDS compilation; Implementation of the 2013 EDS Guide and ensuring consistency and comparability among external debt statistics and other macroeconomic statistics, namely balance of payments, IIP, government finance statistics, and national accounts; Data dissemination and requirements of the World Banks Quarterly External Debt Statistics (QEDS) database.
Target Audience: Officials whose main responsibility is the compilation of external debt and/or international investment position (IIP) statistics.
Description: This course, presented by the Statistics Department, deals with identification and assessment of elementary indicators and techniques for combining them into a single index of economic activity to track national trends. Flash estimates or indexes of economic activity bring together a range of elementary indicators to give timely general measures of economic activity. These measures give policy makers useful information that complements annual and quarterly GDP estimates, which are more comprehensive but usually only available after substantial lags, and provide a more comprehensive picture than individual monthly and quarterly indicators, which are up-to-the-minute but reflect just a portion of the total economy).This course is for actual or potential compilers of short-term indicators in central banks and statistical offices and for those who collect data for monthly indicators. Participants are expected to work with their own monthly and quarterly time series during the course. These indicators will be used in the practical session as the basis for experimental estimates.
Target Audience: Officials responsible for compiling short-term or monthly economic indicators in central banks and statistical offices.
Description: This course, presented by the IMF Statistics Department, is based on the conceptual framework of the 2008 System of National Accounts (2008 SNA). It covers advanced methodological and practical issues related to the compilation of the sequence of accounts of the SNA (current and capital accounts, financial accounts, other changes in volume of assets accounts, revaluation accounts, and balance sheets) byinstitutional sectors. The course will also examine the linkages between institutional sectors as a basis for establishing from-whom-to-whom accounts. The aim of the course is to provide participants with the necessary skills to compile-or further enhance-their country's institutional sector accounts and the balance sheets. The course consists of lectures covering conceptual and methodological issues, workshops sessions on practical compilation issues, discussions on emerging financial issues such as fintech and crypto assets. It will review case studies involving new applications of ISA such as household distributions to examine income, consumption and wealth accumulation by various cohorts and intergenerational transfers and pensions. The myriad ways in which the ISA supports economic policy will also be examined. The lectures will provide a thorough review of the methodological framework, concepts, and definitions relating to sectoral institutional sector accounts and balance sheets, examine potential data sources for the compilation of annual and quarterly ISA, and illustrate possible compilation techniques and procedures. The course also provides a forum for participants to share country practices and experiences relating to the compilation of sectoral institutional accounts and balance sheets.
Description: Nowcasting refers to the practice of using recently published data to update key economic indicators that are published with a significant lag, such as real GDP. The aim of this course is to familiarize participants with cutting-edge nowcasting tools that facilitate the use mixed-frequency data in regression models. The course begins by establishing the importance of nowcasting for more timely and appropriate policy formulation during crisis periods such as the GFC or COVID-19. It then reviews the standard nowcasting regression-based procedures available, including the BRIDGE, MIDAS, and U-MIDAS estimators, both with and without dynamic factors. The course also reviews the more general state-space/Kalman filter approach to formulating and estimating a nowcasting model with mixed-frequency data. Procedures for combining nowcasts from the distinct models are considered, along with statistical procedures for evaluating the accuracy of a sequence of nowcasts. Each topic is complemented by a hands-on workshops and assignment using country-specific data using the EViews econometric package. The workshops and assignments are an integral component of the course designed to illuminate the actual steps required to generate a nowcast.
Description: This course, presented by the Statistics Department, provides participants with an introduction to the compilation of monetary statistics covering the central bank (CB) and other depository corporations (ODCs) in accordance with international standards. Course materials are based on the Monetary and Financial Statistics Manual and Compilation Guide (MFSMCG). The course discusses the principles of residency and sectorization of institutional units, the characteristics and types of financial instruments, valuation principles, and other accounting issues that are relevant to the compilation of monetary statistics. Participants also become familiar with the defining characteristics of depository corporations (DCs), notably their role as money issuers, and with the main principles on which analysis of monetary and credit aggregates is based. The course consists of lectures, and exercises covering practical aspects of compiling monetary statistics, especially the use of financial statements for filling out standardized report forms (SRFs 1SR and 2SR) and the derivation of the respective surveys for the CB, ODCs, and the consolidated DCs sector. Participants should be prepared to ask questions and discuss challenges related to MFS compilation practices. This course is an abbreviated version of the longer, introductory MFS course traditionally offered by STA in-person.
Description: This course, presented by the Statistics Department, provides participants with an introduction to the compilation of monetary statistics covering the central bank (CB) and other depository corporations (ODCs) in accordance with international standards. Course materials are based on the Monetary and Financial Statistics Manual and Compilation Guide (MFSMCG). The course discusses the principles of residency and sectorization of institutional units, the characteristics and types of financial instruments, valuation principles, and other accounting issues that are relevant to the compilation of monetary statistics. Participants also become familiar with the defining characteristics of depository corporations (DCs), notably their role as money issuers, and with the main principles on which analysis of monetary and credit aggregates is based. The course consists of lectures, and exercises covering practical aspects of compiling monetary statistics, especially the use of financial statements for filling out standardized report forms (SRFs 1SR and 2SR) and the derivation of the respective surveys for the CB, ODCs, and the consolidated DCs sector. Participants should be prepared to ask questions and discuss challenges related to MFS compilation practices. This course is an abbreviated version of the longer, introductory MFS course traditionally offered by STA in-person.
Description: This course, presented by the IMF Statistics Department, acquaints participants with the fundamentals of compiling and using FSIs in support of macroprudential analysis. The course covers methodological and technical issues in the construction of FSIs, as discussed in the 2019 Financial Soundness Indicators Compilation Guide (2019 FSI Guide). The course takes an interactive approach using hands-on exercises in discussing the main topics as follows: Preparation of the sectoral financial statements and compilation of FSIs for deposit takers; Regulatory framework for deposit takers; Accounting principles and data consolidation for the compilation of FSIs for deposit takers; and Overview of key points and changes in the 2019 FSI Guide.
Description: The United Nations Global Geospatial Information Management Section, Statistics Division, Department of Economic and Social Affairs and the Government of Singapore through the Singapore Land Authority will jointly organize the expert meeting and regional seminar together with the United Nations Expert Group on Land Administration and Management. The Regional Seminar is supported by the Regional Committee of United Nations Global Geospatial Information Management for Asia and the Pacific (UN-GGIM-AP). The expert meeting of the United Nations Expert Group on Land Administration and Management is a closed meeting, by invitation only, allows members of the Expert Group together with invited experts to review, consider and discuss its progress to-date, follow through on the guidance and decisions of UN-GGIM, and in particular, its ongoing consideration to translate concepts into practical guidance for the implementation of the FELA at the country level. It will also allow the Expert Group to consider, deliberate and address issues and opportunities for inclusive, integrated and effective land administration, facilitates peer-to-peer exchange of information, experience and practices, affords networking whilst attending to the business and activities of the EG-LAM. The Regional Seminar on United Nations Global Geospatial Information Management with the theme 'effective land administration' will provide a forum for deliberating key considerations for effective land administration including translating concepts into practical guidance for Member States when implementing the FELA. The Regional Seminar seeks to share and exchange knowledge, information and experience; facilitate peer-to-peer engagement and learning; interact and consider guidance, recommendations, standards and approaches towards effective land administration for the wellbeing of society, environment and economy.
Organizer(s): UNSD Maritime and Port Authority Singapore
Description: The United Nations Global Geospatial Information Management Section, Statistics Division, Department of Economic and Social Affairs and the Government of Singapore through the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore will jointly organize these expert meetings and international seminar together with the United Nations Working Group on Marine Geospatial Information, the Marine Spatial Data Infrastructure Working Group of the International Hydrographic Organization and the Marine Domain Working Group of the Open Geospatial Consortium. The third expert meeting of the United Nations Working Group on Marine Geospatial Information is a closed meeting, by invitation only. The in-person meeting allows members of the Working Group together with invited experts to review, consider and discuss its progress to-date, follow through on the guidance and decisions of UN-GGIM at its annual sessions, consider and address new developments, and in particular, its ongoing consideration to develop and consult the draft operational framework for integrated marine geospatial information management (IGIF-H). The meeting also facilitates peer-to-peer engagement and exchange of information, experience and practices, as well as to attend to the business and activities of the WG-MGI. The International Seminar on United Nations Global Geospatial Information Management, with the theme "Effective and Integrated Marine Geospatial Information", will provide the forum for deliberating key considerations for integrated marine geospatial information within a data ecosystem for effective policies, decisions, programmes and projects to achieve national development priorities and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The International Seminar seeks to share and exchange knowledge, information and experience, facilitate peer-to-peer engagement and learning, interact and consider guidance, recommendations, standards and approaches towards the availability and accessibility of marine geospatial information for a multiplicity of purposes towards the deepest and broadest benefits for society, environment and economy. The International Seminar will include sessions and presentations addressing identified sub-themes, with an agenda that promotes active interactions, sharing and exchanges. The outcomes of the International Seminar will be considered and deliberated by the Working Groups at their meetings.
Description: This course, presented by the IMF Statistics Department, reviews data sources and methods for compiling RPPIs and outlines strategic issues for country-specific application. Emphasis is given to the importance of evaluating alternative data sources for compiling RPPIs in terms of coverage, timeliness, richness in terms of supporting a quality-mix methodology, suitability of a price measure, and weighting. Trade-offs involved in selecting data sources are considered, as are strategies for longer-run development of data sources. The methodological component of the course emphasizes the quality-mix problem; a change in the mix of properties transacted each period can bias measures of change in average prices. Mix-adjustment by stratification and hedonic regression are the main methods used to deal with this issue and interactive workshops deal with these topics. The course also highlights how data source and methodological issues are intertwined. The course follows the principles of the 2013 Handbook on RPPIs published by Eurostat, ILO, IMF, OECD, United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), and World Bank.
Target Audience: Mid-level to senior officials and compilers responsible for, or planning to introduce or develop residential property price indexes (RPPI).
Description: This course, presented by the IMF Statistics Department, is intended to provide a thorough understanding of the concepts underlying international trade in goods and services statistics. It offers practical advice on data sources and techniques for compiling these statistics. The course is mainly based on the 2014 BPM6 Compilation Guide and the Manual on Statistics of International Trade in Services 2010 Compilers Guide (MSITS 2010 CG). The course consists of a series of lectures and workshops that cover concepts, sources, and methods for compiling statistics associated with international trade in goods and services. It will also include plenary discussions on country practices. Recognizing the challenges in compiling statistics for certain services categories, such as manufacturing, merchanting, insurance, financial services, and construction, the course will emphasize specific aspects of their treatment and how they are recorded in the balance of payments. Participants will have the opportunity to discuss compilation problems they have encountered and gain insights into the analytical uses of statistics on the international trade in goods and services. They will benefit from the experiences of other compilers through peer learning opportunities.
Target Audience: Officials whose main responsibility is compiling balance of payments, international merchandise trade statistics, and/or international trade in services statistics. Participants should be familiar with the methodology of the
Description: This course, presented by the IMF Statistics Department, focuses on both the conceptual framework of government finance statistics (GFS) as presented in the IMF’s Government Finance Statistics Manual 2014 (GFSM 2014) and on practical aspects of data compilation. Basic concepts, accounting principles, and detailed classifications are dealt with in the context of the new methodology, which is harmonized with the system of national accounts. The course examines GFS coverage and accounting rules (including accrual accounting), valuation, classification, debt,
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