The international comparability of territorial statistics in Latin America has limitations that, among other factors, are associated with the scant coverage of sub-national indicators in the region’s countries and to the differences in the institutional and political-administrative structures that exist among them, a recent study by the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) shows.
The document The Comparability of Territorial Statistics in Latin America (only available in Spanish) analyzes two key sources of information on economic and social matters: the sub-national accounts and household surveys. Eight States in the region publish their national accounts with a sub-national breakdown and practically all of the countries use household surveys to produce updated socioeconomic figures at different political and administrative levels.
However, coverage of sub-national indicators is limited in the region’s countries. According to the study, this could be the result of countries prioritizing the national scale as the focus of their measurements and the fact that there are few institutions, national or international, that standardize this data—in contrast to national statistics.
In addition, the available statistics are based on each country’s existing institutional and political-administrative structure. Their dissimilarity indicates that it would be useful to seek greater homogenization in the global definition of territorial units for the purpose of measurement and analysis.
The report by ECLAC’s Latin American and Caribbean Institute for Economic and Social Planning concludes that only a few indicators are comparable between countries and that those on poverty and access to basic services are among the most comparable, although they also have limitations.
In the case of household surveys, few countries explicitly address sampling errors and the effect of the sample design in their methodological reports, which prevents others from accurately assessing the magnitude of the error and the reliability of the estimates. Meanwhile, the countries that do provide such details only include key variables and leave out other variables of interest.
Additionally, some countries do not publish or do not include in an accessible way information on the domains or scope of the data that they present, which is essential for knowing what the maximum level of geographic disaggregation is that can be used to produce trustworthy estimates.
Ignorance of these errors that are associated with the variables can lead officials to make the wrong inferences and, therefore, to make poorly informed public policy decisions, the report warns.
All in all, the study confirms that there has been important progress in the process of harmonizing indicators at a national level, which opens a window of opportunity for working at a sub-national level and comparing these statistics among different countries.
The report aims to improve the availability of sub-national indicators, especially in light of the agreement on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which is expected to be signed in September at the United Nations General Assembly. The objective is to facilitate the follow-up and evaluation of the SDGs at a sub-national level, which is especially important in a region characterized by significant disparities in its territorial development.
This study is the result of the support that ECLAC has provided since 2013 to the Latin American Public Policies for Regional Development Network, a space for exchanging experiences on policies to promote a more balanced approach to territorial development. Among its priorities are the measurement of territorial development and the use of comparable indicators between countries.
Other institutions that also collaborate with the Network are the EUROsociAL program of the European Union, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), and the International and Ibero-American Foundation for Administration and Public Policies (FIIAPP).
