NUMBER # 4 MAY 2011 62226 ENHANCING ACCESS TO MICRO-DATA IN THE MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA Diego F. Angel-Urdinola, Anne Hilger, and Ingrid B. collection and whether data are available and Ivins 1 reliable, and (iii) the extent to which data are made accessible to users through the Introduction: Greater transparency and transformation of source data into timely accountability has been one of the core issues statistical outputs. A higher index indicates a behind the current upheavals in the region. higher statistical capacity.3 Similarly, lack of or inability to gain access to data has been a long standing complaint by local and The index reveals important differences in international agencies and organizations. This statistical capacity between low performing state of affairs makes it difficult to design good regions, mainly the MENA and Sub-Saharan policies and to put together indicators to hold Africa (AFR) regions, and high performing governments and others accountable. This Arab regions, i.e. Easter Europe and Central Asia World Brief looks at the current state-of-play in (ECA), and Latin America and Caribbean (LAC). terms of access to data as well as measures to A low statistical capacity index may result when improve the situation. countries do not produce micro-data, or despite producing it they do not make it available to users Figure 1: World Bank Statistical Capacity Index 2010 - whether government or private. In the particular case of MENA, all independent sub-indices are 100 78 75 below world average, but the gap is largest when 67 66 57 56 it comes to the methods used for data collection 50 (i.e. sub-index 1).4 0 Lack of access to micro-data and Policy Design ECA LAC SAS EAP MNA AFR Failures: In many MENA countries open access to data/micro-data remains restricted, even Source: World Bank Statistical Capacity Index (2010) among government officials and public institutions. As a consequence, many recent and Background: In spite of recent achievements important social reforms (such as the introduction concerning the quality and availability of data in of family allowances and universal healthcare in the MENA region, there is still much room for Morocco and the introduction of the food- improvement. The World Bank Statistical nutrition support program in Algeria, among Capacity Index (see Figure 1) provides an others) were not well studied/assessed before overview of the statistical capacity of developing their implementation (Bibi and Nabli, 2010). countries2. The Index consists of three Research is indispensable for informed policy dimensions, each capturing a different aspect of making. Indeed, in key areas such as labor statistical capacity such as: (i) the ability of a markets and social protection, the number of country to adhere to internationally existing publications is very limited, often due to recommended standards and methods, (ii) the lack of access to micro-data. As illustrated in whether a country conducts periodical data Figure 2, while MENA is among the regions with 1This Arab World Brief was cleared by Jonathan Walters, 3 While the index has been constructed for low and Director, Regional Strategy and Program, The Middle East and middle income countries, only middle income countries North Africa Region, The World Bank. are considered in the following analyses. 4 Note that the correlation between statistical capacity 2 A full description of the Index Methodology can be index and the level of GDP per-capita is not significant found here: http://go.worldbank.org/3J9X57XKY0. for countries in the MENA region. 1 the lowest statistical capacity index, it is also the Table 1: Statistical Capacity and Governance region which has the least number of publications Indicators in the area of labor markets. Correlation with Statistical Capacity Figure 2: Number of Publications on Labor Markets in Index EconLit by Region Voice & Accountability 0.3742* 400 Political Stability 0.2415* regional mean Governance 0.5349* sample mean Effectiveness 300 Regulatory Quality 0.5285* Rule of Law 0.4381* Control of Corruption 0.4347* 200 Democratization index5 0.3376* Source: Author’s own calculations using 100 Statistical Capacity Index (2009), WGI (2009), and Polity IV (2008) for EAP, ECA, LAC and MENA 0 Regional Initiatives to Enhance the Production SAS EAP LAC ECA AFR MNA of and Access to Micro-data: One way of improving production/access to micro-data is to engage in regional coordination and cooperation Source: EconLit (2010) programs. An exemplary program is the MECOVI Benefits of Enhanced Access to Micro-Data: The program6, established in Latin America in the main benefits of open access to micro-data are the 1990s. Before the program was introduced, access formulation of informed policies, and also the to and availability of micro-data in Latin America capacity to better monitor existing ones. Informed was very limited. While data was produced public policy design requires detailed information frequently by most statistical agencies in the about target groups and their characteristics in region (similar to what occurs today in MENA), order to conduct social and impact assessments of the data was largely inaccessible to public and planned policies and reforms. Moreover, data private users. At the time, data produced by most access increases transparency which in turn leads national statistical offices were not comparable to a higher public credibility. Through open regionally due to differences in sampling access to data, results from researchers can be frameworks, definitions, and data collected. To verified, fostering open research communities and address these shortcomings, the MECOVI better analysis. This in turn would generate new program was launched in 1996 and lasted a total research further adding to the value of existing of 8 years. The program’s main purpose was to data and spurring the demand for additional improve surveys and the measurement of living analysis and data – in effect creating a virtuous standards in Latin America. The program was cycle. developed in a partnership between the World Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank and Availability of Micro-Data and Better the Economic Commission for Latin America and Governance: There is a positive association the Caribbean (ECLAC). between a country’s statistical capacity index and commonly used governance indicators, although the causality is probably bi-directional, i.e. better 5 (1): institutionalized autocratic regime, (2) weak autocratic regime, (3) weak democracy, (4) production and dissemination of micro-data is institutionalized democracy. Available at likely to contribute to public transparency and www.systemicpeace.org/polity/polity4.htm better governance in the same way that better 6 MECOVI stands for “Programa para el Mejoramiento de governance is likely to foster data production and las Encuestas y la Medición de Condiciones de Vida” - dissemination (Table 1). Program for the Improvement of Surveys and the Measurement of Living Conditions. 2 The MECOVI Program: MECOVI was launched currently performs above average concerning the in Paraguay but expanded quickly to other World Bank Statistical Capacity Index, with an countries in the region, namely Argentina, above average level of publications in the area of Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, El Salvador, labor markets. Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Paraguay and the Dominican Republic. Three components were Piloting a MECOVI-type Program in MENA: at the core of the program: (i) improving the Given that the regional context in MENA has quality of regional data production, (ii) ensuring some similarities with Latin America in the early international comparability, and (iii) promoting 90s, a regional program to enhance access and data access and utilization. MECOVI turned out production of micro-data for public use could be to be an overwhelmingly successful program, considered. Such a program could be piloted first leading to better harmonization between regional in a sub-region, such as the Maghreb or the statistical offices and to promoting public access Mashreq. A regional MECOVI-like program to micro-data. The program contributed to the would help the region in making its already standardization of questionnaires in the region for existing data sets available for research and public most household budget surveys, the production policy analyses, leading to more knowledge on of several studies and publications, the the countries’ socio-economic situations and development of regional GPS, and to the ultimately to more informed policy making. A modernization/standardization of software and regional program would also allow for better equipment in the region. Today, several comparison across countries and for better household budget surveys and labor force harmonization and coordination of national surveys in Latin America are available through statistical offices. the internet to public institutions, academia, NGOs and researchers. Better data dissemination Confidentiality Issues: Regardless of the and the introduction/promotion of panel surveys advantages of more access to micro-data, it is within the MECOVI framework also contributed imperative to assure confidentiality. In to the improvement of the credibility of national considering whether or not to produce and statistical offices. No confidentiality issues arose disseminate micro-data, an important trade-off and no negative experiences of the program were emerges between the benefits of data access and reported. the necessity to guarantee confidentiality. Ethical and legal considerations require statistical SEDLAC7: As a continuation of MECOVI, a agencies to strive for the confidentiality of the follow-up program, SEDLAC, was introduced. information supplied by survey respondents. SEDLAC is a data base for Latin America and the From a pragmatic point of view, confidentiality is Caribbean, consisting of (i) regional socio- a necessary condition for participants to continue economic statistics computed from household sharing confidential information. There are ways surveys accessible from the web, (ii) labor to balance data access and confidentiality by statistics computed from labor surveys minimizing potential risks. This can be done by (LABLAC), (iii) reports, briefs, maps and other setting a threshold risk (to the individual record, material describing the main patterns and trends or to the entire file), by removing unique/rare in poverty, inequality, and other indicators in the sample data, or by ensuring the anonymity of the region, and (iv) research on poverty and other data. Assuring confidentiality was one of the social and labor issues in LAC. MECOVI and pillars of the MECOVI program and should be SEDLAC collectively led to a substantial considered as a key component for the improvement in data quality and comparability in development of any regional or country-specific Latin America. The achievements of the two program aimed at improving statistical capacity. programs can be recognized in the empirical As a first step, MENA countries could also evidence presented above, as the LAC region consider establishing a regional data set similar to Europe’s LIS (Cross National Data Center in 7Socio-Economic Data Base for Latin America and the Luxemburg see www.Lisdatacenter.org). LIS Caribbean 3 created a data base containing harmonized micro- Contact Arab World Briefs: data from middle and high income countries (40 Director, Regional Strategy and Programs countries, mostly Europe and North America). Jonathan Walters LIS allows for remote-execution, so that researchers can write programs (e.g. in STATA), Arab World Briefs Team: Omer Karasapan, Roby Fields, send them via email to the LIS server, and then and Hafed Al-Ghwell – Tel #: (202) 473 8177 receive the results without having actual access to the micro-data. Of course, a system like LIS needs The Arab World Briefs are intended to summarize lessons to sustain technical capacity to respond to client’s learned from the Knowledge and Learning activities of the demands, which in turn requires a sustainable World Bank Group and our partners. The Briefs do not mechanism of financing. necessarily reflect the views of the World Bank, its board or its member countries. 4