Statistical literacy: an enabler of statistical capacity development in the Caribbean

This study reviews the level of statistical skills and competencies of staff of National Statistical Offices of the Caribbean as a critical step in enhancing the statistical capacity of National Statistical Systems in the subregion. Building on discussions of statistical literacy in national policies and regional frameworks such as the CARICOM Regional Strategy for the Development of Statistics (RSDS), the study explores statistical literacy and competencies using self-reported responses of NSO staff to a structured questionnaire that focused on technical expertise of staff and their perceptio…

Report of the twenty-ninth session of the Caribbean Development and Cooperation Committee of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean

Improving broadband quality and affordability in the Caribbean: Policies to advance digital inclusion in the subregion. Policy Brief

In this digitally transforming world, digital inclusion is becoming increasingly important to social inclusion and sustainable development. Affordable access to broadband is an essential precondition to digital inclusion. Internet quality, as measured by speed and other indicators, is also important, as digital inclusion is ultimately about ensuring equal access to the benefits and opportunities offered by digital technologies and the Internet. This policy brief provides insight into Internet speed and affordability across the Caribbean, and offers some recommendations for policymakers working…

Building a climate resilient power sector in the context of the Caribbean small island developing States’ energy transition. Policy Brief

In Caribbean small island developing States (SIDS), electrical power outages are frequent in the aftermath of major weather events. While local service disruptions often last a few days after these events, nationwide power grid failures lasting several weeks, or months have resulted in enormous social and economic impacts. In 2017, Hurricane Maria left 90 per cent of the population of Dominica without access to electricity for over four months (Commonwealth of Dominica, 2020) and caused a systemwide collapse of Puerto Rico's power grid that took 11 months to be entirely restored (Campbell…

The Hummingbird Vol. 9 No. 12

Investing in an Inclusive Digital Future for the Caribbean

The Caribbean is undergoing a digital transformation: More people than ever have access to digital technologies and the internet, and both businesses and government entities are increasingly providing online services. While significant disparities remain both within and among Caribbean countries in terms of access to digital technologies and infrastructure, the influence of digital technologies on the subregion has increased significantly in recent years, particularly in response to the public health measures implemented to mitigate the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.…

Institutional and methodological recommendations for the measurement of indicators for the disaster-related Sustainable Development Goals and the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction

This document outlines institutional and methodological recommendations proposes six methodological steps for measuring indicators for the disaster-related Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) and the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction and defines a number of global, regional and national criteria and instruments. The document is accompanied by a Matrix of Requirements, a diagnostic mechanism to identify the gaps and needs in statistical processes that require greater clarification and support from the national statistical offices and stakeholders involved.…

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)

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

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…

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.…