The Hummingbird Vol. 9 No. 10

Decentring GDP: Well-being, care and time

In recent years, a number of proposals have highlighted how restrictive it is to use gross domestic product (GDP) as a measure of well-being. This document takes up those criticisms and also showcases the limitations of GDP as a measure of output. What GDP measures and what it excludes is a product of conventions that reflect androcentric biases. The failure to appraise natural resources and non-remunerated services produced by households results in a skewed perspective on the economy that focuses on markets and neglects other processes that are essential to human life. The Latin American and …

Policy imperatives for the timely production and dissemination of quality and relevant statistics in the Caribbean. Policy Brief

Many international development agendas highlight the importance of quality data for sustainable development. With the advent of the data revolution for sustainable development, stakeholders have underscored the value of timely, usable data in informing decision-making and for monitoring progress and evaluating outcomes, be it in relation to national development planning or as regards the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and other international development agendas. Crucially, the COVID-19 pandemic, more than anything else in recent times, has demonstrated the value of tim…

A change of reference year for annual regional aggregates in national accounts

Changes of base or reference year in countries’ systems of national accounts are a normal part of statistical work. They are an opportunity to incorporate into measurements, for the base year and those that follow or precede it, all the progress in concepts, methodologies and information sources that has occurred since the last estimate of gross domestic product (GDP). The System of National Accounts 2008 (2008 SNA) recommends that this type of updating be carried out at least every five years to reflect the current behaviour of the different economic sectors, thereby providing better tools fo…

Disaggregating data in household surveys: Using small area estimation methodologies

Household surveys are widely used as a tool for obtaining information on people's socio-economic status and well-being. However, the accuracy of household survey estimates decreases significantly when it comes to making inferences for population groups who represent disaggregations for which the survey was not designed. It is possible, in this context, to use estimation processes that combine information from household surveys with existing auxiliary information at population level, such as censuses or administrative records. This paper offers a methodological guide to the combination of …

Nature Based Solutions: Can They Help Us Stay Alive at 1.5 °C?

The global community claims to be committed to finding a solution to arresting rising global temperatures limiting global warming to well below 2 °C, preferably 1.5 °C (UNFCCC, 2022), to ensure that all life, livelihoods and the overall health and welfare of ecosystems animals and humans are secured (IPCC 2018). The International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reports paint a picture that shows increased intensity and frequency of climatic conditions and extreme events as emerging trends (IPCC 2018). Global warming beyond 1.5 °C will be devastating; in fact, projections show at 2 °C warming ma…

The Hummingbird Vol. 9 No. 9

Report on the activities of the Statistical Coordination Group for the 2030 Agenda in Latin America and the Caribbean

First report on the implementation of the Biennial Programme of Regional and International Cooperation activities 2022-2023 of the Statistical Conference of the Americas of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC)

Protocol for the collection and dissemination of data on children and adolescents participating in studies

The Working Group on Statistics on Childhood and Adolescence of the Statistical Conference of the Americas has been working since 2015 to improve the region’s capacity to produce statistics on children and adolescents. In this context, and having found that there are no ethical protocols for statistical research in the region, a decision was made to develop a standard protocol to facilitate the collection and dissemination of data on children and adolescents in statistical offices. The instrument considers regional specifics and the effect of local cultural and gender norms; and it anticipates…

Annotated provisional agenda. Twenty-first meeting of the Executive Committee of the Statistical Conference of the Americas of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean

Methodological guide on time-use measurements in Latin America and the Caribbean

The region is facing the challenge of increasing the harmonization and comparability of measurements of time use and unpaid work. The methodological differences between the various surveys make it harder to generate regional aggregate data. In view of this, the member countries of the Working Group on Gender Statistics agreed to prepare a methodological document that would collate the experience of the countries of the region and make recommendations for the design of measurement instruments that would make it possible to generate comparable indicators with common regionally agreed-upon method…

Guide for the implementation of a quality assurance framework for statistical processes and outputs

This document is intended as a guide to the adoption, adaptation and application in Latin America and the Caribbean of the United Nations National Quality Assurance Frameworks Manual for Official Statistics. It draws on the Manual and its diagnostic tools via an unofficial Spanish translation produced by the national statistical offices of Colombia and Mexico. It also draws on discussions of those inputs held with the countries of the region to obtain recommendations for adapting the Manual to the Latin American and Caribbean context.…

Lessons and challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic for household surveys in Latin America

As a consequence of mobility restrictions aimed at containing coronavirus disease (COVID-19) infections, several national statistical offices (NSOs) suspended the collection of household survey data and struggled to continue publishing indicators derived from this type of statistical operation. This note presents a summary of the strategies implemented to continue the production of employment, income and poverty statistics during the health emergency. Lessons learned during the period may improve preparedness for future emergencies of this nature.…

Provisional agenda. Twenty-first meeting of the Executive Committee of the Statistical Conference of the Americas of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean

Breaking the statistical silence to achieve gender equality by 2030: implementing the Information Systems Pillar of the Montevideo Strategy for the implementation of the Regional Gender Agenda within the sustainable development framework by 2030

Reference framework for security and criminal justice statistics in Latin America and the Caribbean

This document sets out to review statistical information on security and criminal justice in Latin America and the Caribbean. It thus contributes to the fulfilment of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 16, to “promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels”. Its use will contribute to the creation of reliable, technical, precise, independent, relevant, timely and comparable records that conform to international standards. According to the United Nations, this infor…

Energy in Latin America and the Caribbean: access, renewability and efficiency

Energy is central to addressing almost every major challenge and opportunity in the region, whether it be reducing poverty, producing and cooking food, boosting employment, improving security, using digital services or raising incomes. However, the current energy model with its heavy use of fossil fuels jeopardizes environmental equilibrium, as it is a major contributor to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 7 seeks to ensure access to affordable, secure, sustainable and modern energy. To this end it sets three targets, the first concerning access to energy, the …

The Hummingbird Vol. 9 No. 5

Revenue Statistics in Latin America and the Caribbean 1990-2020 = Estadísticas tributarias en América Latina y el Caribe 1990-2020

Revenue Statistics in Latin America and the Caribbean 2022 is a joint publication by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Centre for Tax Policy and Administration, the OECD Development Centre, the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (UN-ECLAC), the Inter-American Center of Tax Administrations (CIAT) and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), with the support of the European Union Regional Facility for Development in Transition for Latin America and the Caribbean. It presents detailed, internationally comparable data on tax rev…