The businesss statistics system in France and consistency between sources

Article type: Research Article

Authors: Quelennec, M.¹

Note: [1] M. Quelennec is Chief of the Business Statistics Service in the National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies (I.N.S.E.E.) of France.

Abstract: Consistency between statistical sources is not easy to obtain. However one can define some necessary conditions such as homogeneity of the units, exhaustivity of the enumerations, uniformity of the classifications, identity of reference period. The fulfilment of those conditions is based in France on some basic tools: the directory of enterprises and establishments, the official classifications of activities and products and the accounting plan sets guidelines. Complementary action is useful such as interactive modalities for managing statistical sources that are designed to ensure consistency in individual observations. At a later stage, the partial images of a field provided by a source can sometimes be corrected by using data from other sources. In spite of these efforts, some discrepancies remain between sources.

DOI: 10.3233/SJU-1984-2202

Journal: Statistical Journal of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, vol. 2, no. 2, pp. 137-148, 1984