The management of identification registers by statistical offices

Article type: Research Article

Authors: Callies, J.M.¹

Note: [1] Jean-Marie Callies is, since 1982, chief of the department ‘Répertoires’ at the ‘Direction Générale’ of INSEE (France). He graduated from the ‘Ecole Polytechnique’ and the ‘Ecole Nationale de la Statistique et de l'Administration Economique’. In the framework of technical statistical co-operation, he worked in Cameroun (1962–1966) and Madagascar (1967–1968). From 1968 to 1976, he was assigned to INSEE's national accounting and statistical co-ordination. From 1976 to 1982, he acted as chief on the ‘Centre National d'exploitation gérant les répertoires’.

Abstract: The growing use of electronic data processing in the maintenance of administrative registers opens up an important road to statistical data collection provided that the registered units are included in the registers with a unique registration number and are classified in accordance with official nomenclatures. Statistical offices certainly have an important role to play in the definitions of units to be registered and of the nomenclatures and codes to be used. But under which conditions should statistical offices undertake to manage interadministrative identification registers? This seems to be the case if the statistical office adds significant ‘statistical’ value to the definition and classification of the units concerned. Most typical illustrations of this situation can be found in the identification registers of enterprises and establishments. It should be noted that the keeping of interadministrative registers creates a heavy work load, as it is embedded in a legal and regulatory context which stipulates the meeting of fixed deadlines, reliability and confidentiality criteria, as well as the adaptation to specific management needs of privileged users. INSEE of France has assembled relevant experience in this regard. INSEE keeps an identification register of enterprises and establishments (SIRENE), a register of individuals (RIP), and uses a localization register (RIVOLI) kept by the fiscal administration.

DOI: 10.3233/SJU-1984-2102

Journal: Statistical Journal of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, vol. 2, no. 1, pp. 9-19, 1984