Transcript Presentation

OECD Conference:
Assessing the Feasibility of Micro-Data Access
Micro-Data Access Questionnaire: Synthesis
Luxembourg, 26-27 October 2006
Nadim Ahmad, Statistics Directorate, OECD
1
Background - Questionnaire

Sent 30 June, seeking views on feasibility options
• Snap shot indicators
• Longitudinal indicators
• Bilateral projects
• Remote Access
• Transmission of micro-data
– (5(i)) – Accessing private data sets

26 OECD and 2 NM countries
2
Synthesis – Current Practice

Most countries provide access to some micro-data

Typically public-use files


With ‘anonymised’ micro-data available at on-site
Research Centres
A few countries (e.g. Aus, Dnk, NLD, Swe, Bra)
currently have remote access facilities but the
mechanisms and data need further investigation and
others are investigating their potential (recognising
constraints posed by on-site access)
3
Synthesis – Social versus Economic

Typically, accessible data is social rather than
economic

But, in most countries, the legal conditions governing
access are, de facto, the same for both social and
economic data.

Difference reflects greater difficulty in preserving
confidentiality in economic data sets. Indeed, small
countries highlighted their particular difficulties with
economic data distributions.
4
Synthesis - Trust and Educated Users

But many countries have been able to overcome
disclosure problems by creating an educated and
trusted user network, supported by penalties.

And, in practice, this works. No known breaches.
5
Synthesis – Non-Residents

Some countries cited difficulty in providing access to
non-residents who would not be able to be penalised.

But other countries have made access available to
non-residents and this works. In practice the threat of
having accessed removed appears to be the most
preventative penalty (for the OECD a removal of
access would be catastrophic in terms of reputation
and current and future research projects)
6
Synthesis – Country Views

Many countries viewed remote access as a feasible
option, but one that could not be implemented in the
short-term due to technical (and not legal) constraints.

Most countries welcomed the development of new
indicators that provided additional information with no
increased risk of confidentiality breaches but the scope
of longitudinal indicators is limited by coverage of
longitudinal datasets.
7
Synthesis – Country Views

Access to on-site research data centres and bilateral
projects is feasible in most countries - however, from
an OECD perspective, such an approach would involve
considerable organisational costs and, so, would seem
impractical.

A number of countries indicated that public-use files,
in particular, could be made available to an OECD
Centre.
8
Synthesis – Summary

Tentative conclusions suggest a two stage approach

Stage 1: For the OECD to develop with NSOs and
analysts a list of indicators that could be produced
without compromising confidentiality. E.g. for business
statistics providing information relating to distributions,
variances, co-variances, and possibly standard
regression coefficients.
9
Synthesis – Summary

Stage 2: To begin to develop remote access options
with countries that have facilities available and
examine how these could be replicated in other
countries over the medium to longer term: examining,
in particular, e-mail and automated systems.

A key deliverable being the development of
confidentiality rules and common metadata sets.

Pre-requisites would be: Governance Rules for OECD
access and OECD user-education program.
10