Affiliations: Statistics Netherlands, Den Haag, The Netherlands
Correspondence:
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Corresponding author: Arnout van Delden, Statistics Netherlands, P.O. Box 24500, 2490 HA Den Haag, The Netherlands. Tel.: +31 703374678; Fax: +31 703877429; E-mail:[email protected]
Abstract: For National Statistical Institutes, administrative data
sources are an attractive alternative to survey sampling to produce official
statistics. The question may arise whether a candidate administrative data
source can replace existing survey sampling, for a range of publication
domains. We combined an analysis of conceptual differences with indicators
from a robust linear regression analysis to assign the domains to four
groups: a Control group without conceptual differences, an Accept group with
conceptual differences but only small numerical differences, an Adjust group
with conceptual differences and substantial, systematic, numerical
differences and a Reject group with conceptual differences and substantial,
non-systematic, numerical differences. We applied our approach to Value
Added Tax data at Statistics Netherlands from which quarterly and yearly
turnover statistics are derived. Using the range of values for the
indicators of the Control group, we derived thresholds to sort the remaining
domains into the groups Accept, Adjust and Reject. Our approach can be used
as a first means to sort the domains, but additional analyses and sometimes
additional collection of data is needed when conceptual and numerical
results are not in line with each other.
