UNSD/ESCAP/ILO
Workshop on Statistics on the Informal Sector
Bangkok, 12-16 May 1997
The UNSD/ESCAP/ILO Workshop on Statistics
on the Informal Sector, organized jointly by
the Department for Economic and Social Information
and Policy Analysis, the Economic and Social
Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP)
and the International Labour Organization (ILO),
was held in Bangkok from 12 to 16 May 1997.
Financial support was provided by the United
Nations regular programme of technical cooperation
through the United Nations Statistics Division
(UNSD), New York.
The Workshop was attended by 37 participants
from 21 members and associate members of ESCAP:
Australia, Bangladesh, China, Fiji, Hong Kong
China, India, Indonesia, Islamic Republic of
Iran, Malaysia, Maldives, Mongolia, Nepal, Pakistan,
Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Republic of Korea,
Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Turkey and Viet
Nam. Representatives from Colombia and Mexico
also participated. Representatives of the Food
and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
(FAO), the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and
the Statistical Institute for Asia and the Pacific
(SIAP) participated.
The Workshop discussed the characteristics
of the informal sector and the difficulties
faced in statistical data collection. It noted
that some household establishments chose to
remain in the informal sector to avoid the payment
of taxes or compliance with government rules
and regulations. Consequently, that adversely
influenced the willingness of operators in the
informal sector to provide data for statistical
enquiries. The Workshop noted also that others
might be genuinely unable to provide reliable
data on their economic activities. Thus, in
terms of data collection, there was general
consensus that special attention would be needed
to address that problem through such measures
as training field staff appropriately, designing
questionnaires to simplify or minimize reporting,
and convincing operators that the information
provided would be treated confidentially.
The Workshop noted that the contribution of
the informal sector to national economies varied
significantly among countries represented at
the Workshop. For some of them, including the
economies in transition, data on the informal
sector were essential for policy and planning
purposes. For some others, there was no specific
need to collect data on the informal sector
as it was not of significant size to be of interest
to policy makers. In the compilation of national
accounts, some countries applied methods of
indirect estimation to include informal-sector-type
activities, while others included part of the
informal-sector-type activities as data sources
permitted. The Workshop noted that the cost
of collecting data directly from the informal
sector was prohibitive in certain cases, and
suggested that indirect estimation on the contribution
by the informal sector to GDP should be explored
and improved upon.
The Workshop noted that the Philippines had
carried out a statistical survey specifically
targeted at the informal sector as defined in
international standards. The experience accumulated
through the survey was presented in detail at
the Workshop.
The representative of ILO made a presentation
on the definition of the informal sector and
its application for data collection. The concept
of the informal sector was described as it had
evolved during the past 25 years. It was pointed
out that that concept had to be distinguished
from the concepts of illegal production and
of the hidden or underground economy. The Workshop
noted the purposes and measurement objectives
of the collection of data on the informal sector
as they were specified in the resolution on
the topic adopted by the 15th International
Conference of Labour Statisticians (ICLS). The
framework and criteria used by the 15th ICLS
to define the informal sector were explained,
covering the following issues: links of the
informal sector definition with national accounts
concepts and their implications for the nature
of the definition; criteria adopted to distinguish,
among household enterprises (i.e., unincorporated
enterprises owned by households), informal sector
enterprises from other enterprises; recommendations
regarding the scope of informal sector surveys
(market/non-market production, agricultural/non-agricultural
activities, urban/rural areas) and the statistical
treatment of particular cases at the borderline
between the informal and other sectors (professional/technical
services, outworkers/ homeworkers, paid domestic
workers); and the need for sub-classification
of informal sector enterprises. It was pointed
out that the definition adopted by the 15th
ICLS was not meant to lead to a segmentation
of the economy or the employed population according
to a formal/informal sector dichotomy.
Clarification was sought on the criteria of
the informal sector definition adopted by the
15th ICLS (i.e., (i) legal organization, (ii)
type of accounts, (iii) destination of products,
and (iv) size in terms of employment and/or
non-registration of the enterprise or its employees),
and on the treatment of agricultural activities,
production of goods for own consumption, paid
domestic workers and outworkers (homeworkers).
Several participants expressed doubts regarding
the usefulness of the criterion of non-registration.
The Workshop heard that the term "informal
sector" was used with different meanings for
different purposes: (i) as a concept for data
analysis and policy-making, and (ii) as a concept
for the collection of data on activities not
covered by the existing sources of statistics.
The informal sector definition adopted by the
15th ICLS was meant to serve the first rather
than the second purpose; hence, it took care
to make the activities included in the informal
sector definition as homogeneous as possible
in terms of their economic objectives and behaviour
as well as in terms of data requirements and
survey operations. The definition was therefore
likely to serve only partially the purposes
of national accounting whose primary objective
was complete coverage of all productive activities.
Some participants expressed concern that the
definition provided a description of the informal
sector rather than a precise definition, while
others considered it to be a good starting point
for the development of informal sector statistics
in their countries. Similarly, some participants
welcomed the flexibility of the definition,
which permitted countries to specify the criteria
according to their particular circumstances,
while others regretted the negative effects
which such flexibility had on the international
comparability of the data. It was however recognized
that it would be hardly possible to specify
any precise size limit that could be used uniformly
for all countries and branches of economic activity.
In that connection it was also mentioned that
data comparability could well be ensured through
the separate identification of the various components
included in the informal sector.
The Workshop heard with interest the presentation
made by the representative of India on the formation
of an Expert Group on Informal Sector Statistics
(Delhi Group). The background, objectives, output,
activities and the possible terms of reference
were presented. The Workshop welcomed the creation
of the Delhi Group and suggested that it might
follow up the unresolved methodological issues
on the informal sector including those identified
by the Workshop. It also suggested that the
venue of the meetings of the "Delhi Group" need
not be confined to India and could be rotated
among the participating countries. It recommended
that the Group should make efforts to ensure
adequate representation of countries from all
regions and should consider seeking financial
and/or technical assistance from donors and
international agencies where needed, to facilitate
its work.
The Workshop made the following observations
and recommendations.
On Definition of the Informal
Sector
The participants agreed
that there was a need to adopt a common definition
of the informal sector for international comparability.
It was recognized that the definition adopted
should be flexible enough so that in operationalizing
it, countries would be able to consider their
own needs and capabilities.
There was a need to ensure
that the classification of employment status
accounted for some types of arrangements peculiar
to the informal sector.
There was discussion on
the advantages and disadvantages of dichotomizing
the economy into sectors for which statistical
systems were able to collect data on a regular
basis and sectors for which statistical data
were lacking or not regularly collected. It
was recommended to refer to the latter as
statistically unrecorded activities and refer
to the term informal sector as an analytical
concept for policy-making purposes.
Further to operationalizing
collection of statistics on the informal sector,
it was recalled that because of the flexibility
innate in the ILO definition, coverage could
include rural as well as urban areas, and
agricultural and non-agricultural activities.
In addition, it was agreed that cut-offs that
defined employment size criteria and scope
of registration would also be consistent with
the definition.
On Data Collection for
Informal Sector Statistics
The participants recognized
the need for and problems related to institutionalization
of data collection for the informal sector.
For that process, it was recommended that
countries continue to share their expertise
and experiences in that area. The need for
continuing dialogue among SNA experts, labour-employment
statisticians and survey statisticians was
also noted.
The Workshop pointed out
the need for an initial and continuing inventory
of data collection methods on the informal
sector. Further, it recommended pursuing a
research and training agenda which would include
an evaluation of alternative approaches, e.g.,
economic census, mixed survey, modules in
regular as opposed to independent surveys,
with respect to sample design requirements,
coverage and cost-efficiency. Research and
training should also be conducted on frame
construction, questionnaire design, quality
assessment, and estimation procedures as further
elaborated below.
Sample design problems
focused on the elusiveness of pertinent units
for data collection, with specific mention
of the sector comprising a rare population,
occasional workers, open-air and mobile enterprises,
and underground activities. The participants
expressed the need for developing appropriate
methods for covering rural and urban areas,
the agriculture sector, special groups such
as women, children and homeworkers, and different
industries.
With respect to questionnaire
design, participants cited problems with recall
bias, seasonal bias, and disaggregation of
input costs. In that connection, the Workshop
identified the need to study ways of balancing
design requirements for household-based respondents
and establishment or business respondents.
The Workshop emphasized
the importance of controlling non-sampling
errors to ensure data quality and improve
response rates. The need for appropriate interviewer
training was pointed out. Participants also
sought assistance in assessing the data quality
of information collected from surveys which
could include post-enumeration surveys.
Because of the complex
designs required for informal sector surveys,
the need for research and training in that
area was noted, especially for estimation
of design effects and sampling errors.
The Workshop recommended
that a minimum set of data items for national
accounts purposes should be identified to
facilitate international comparability.
The participants further
agreed that there was a need to define a recommended
tabulation programme for informal sector surveys.
It was also agreed that
there was a need to improve current data dissemination
efforts and activities on informal sector
statistics.
On Data Needs for National
Accounts
Data supply and data needs
for building up a sequence of accounts for
the household sector in general and the informal
sector therein in particular were discussed.
The Workshop noted that
various direct data collection methods might
provide relevant information on the informal
sector.
It was noted that countries
chose and combined data sources on informal
sector for building up national accounts depending
upon the state of development of their statistical
system, the resources available to them, and
their priorities.
It was proposed that the
respective data sources (with regard to tabulation
format, questionnaire design, sampling frame,
interviewer instructions, quality control
etc.) should pay special attention to the
specific nature of informal sector units (small-scale,
mobile, home based, and/or seasonal operation)
as well as aim to accommodate the specific
needs of national accounts (type and intensity
of production, intermediate consumption, incomes
received and paid, capital formation etc.).
The participants noted
the usefulness of mixed household and enterprise
surveys adopting two-phase sampling for obtaining
information on the informal sector and recognized
the need to examine alternative approaches
to data collection from the point of view
of cost-effectiveness and reliability.
In principle, detailed questionnaires
might be needed for national accounts purposes;
those might be specifically adapted to various
informal activities, regions etc. However,
with regard to the lack of book-keeping by
informal units and the costliness of detailed
inquiries, informal sector sample surveys
might concentrate on a small subset of data
items for national accounts purposes which
then in combination with additional information
from supplementary surveys as well as further
estimates might provide a comprehensive picture
of the informal sector in the household accounts.
The participants stressed
the need to utilize all data sources on household
economic activities available in a country
in order to obtain the respective informal
sector data. For filling the data gaps the
participants suggested that efforts should
be made to collect additional information
and/or use indirect methods (using information
on ratios/percentages of related variables).
Methodological studies were needed for determining
optimal combinations of various approaches.
Since all countries were
expected to adopt the recent version of the
System of National Accounts (1993 SNA) and
revise not only their national accounting
system but also compile explicitly the full
sequence of accounts for institutional sectors,
in particular the household sector (of which
the informal sector was a subset), the participants
agreed that that might also serve as an occasion
to increase efforts to reflect informal activities
adequately within the household sector account.
The participants also suggested
that as a standard, the sub-classification
of the household sector should be made a detailed
one to exhibit clearly in it the informal
sector and its components.
In view of the complexity
of compiling informal sector data for national
accounting purposes, the participants felt
the need for sharing expertise available in
that field and the need for training courses,
seminars, pilot studies etc. at national,
regional and/or international level. The participants
also noted the need to marshal donor support
from international donor agencies. In addition,
the participants expressed the need for preparation
of a handbook on the methodology of compiling
informal sector accounts.
Expert
Group on Informal Sector Statistics (Delhi Meeting
Group)
The first meeting of the Expert Group on
Informal Sector Statistics (Delhi Group) organized
by the Central Statistical Organisation, Department
of Statistics, Ministry of Planning and Programme
Implementation, Government of India, was held
during 20-22 May 1997 at New Delhi. The meeting
was attended by 37 participants including 31
from eight countries (Australia, Bangladesh,
Brazil, Colombia, India, Mexico, Sri Lanka &
Turkey) and six representative members of five
international agencies (UNSD, ILO, ESCAP, Economic
Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean
(ECLAC) & ADB).
Prof Y.K. Alagh, the Honourable Minister of
State for Planning and Programme Implementation
and Science & Technology, inaugurated the
meeting. He emphasized the need for developing
and installing well designed and comprehensive
statistical systems which can take care of the
existing major data gaps in regard to informal
sector activities.
The representative of ESCAP presented the report
of the Workshop on Statistics on the Informal
Sector held in Bangkok during 12-16 May 1997.
The conclusions and recommendations of the Bangkok
workshop relating to the definition of the informal
sector; data collection for informal sector
statistics; and data needs for national accounts
were also presented.
In the meeting, eight country papers from Australia,
Bangladesh, Brazil, Colombia, India, Mexico,
Sri Lanka & Turkey, and four papers from
subject specialists, were presented.
The terms of reference recommended for the
Delhi Group are: (i) Inventory existing country
practices, (ii) Evaluate and develop data collection
procedures on informal sector statistics, (iii)
Clarify and operationalize the international
definition of the informal sector in the light
of country experiences in implementing the standards,
(iv) Maintain comparability of data, (v) Identify
elements of data collection on the informal
sector for national accounting and other purposes.
The Delhi Group decided that its membership
will be open to all national statistical agencies.
Interaction with the international agencies
and Regional Commissions will be continuously
and rigorously maintained through seeking contributions
in the form of papers and participation of institutional
representatives in the meetings.
Participants suggested that the meetings be
held at shorter intervals, at least after nine
months in the beginning and once annually thereafter.
The next meeting of the Delhi Group will be
conducted at the end of March, 1998. The venue
will be in India if no other member country
comes forward to host the meeting. (Subsequently
it has been decided that the meeting will be
held in Ankara, Turkey).
Based on presentations and deliberations the
following recommendations were made by the Group:
The recommendations made
by the UNSD/ESCAP/ILO Workshop on Statistics
of the Informal Sector held at Bangkok from
12 to 16 May, 1997 were broadly endorsed by
the participants. They also agreed to the
agenda suggested for the Delhi Group by the
Workshop which shall be duly included in the
future plan of action of the Delhi Group.
The recommendation on rotation of venues of
meetings of the Delhi Group among member countries
as well as that of seeking financial and/or
technical assistance from donors and international
agencies were appreciated. The Delhi Group
agreed to make efforts to seek representation
of countries from all regions of the world.
The Delhi Group will make
efforts to delineate various criteria like
(a) employment size; (b) registration; (c)
availability of accounts, etc., which are
commonly used by various participating countries
to identify the informal sector.
There is a need to assess
the seasonal variations that normally vitiate
the results of informal sector statistics
by their very nature. For this the sample
might be divided into independent sub-samples
to be canvassed in the different parts of
the year, a quarter or a month as the case
may be.
Efforts should be made
to develop a minimum data set for use of its
members in facilitating international comparability
that meets the requirements of analytical
issues besides those of the national accounts.
All papers contributed
in various regional forums, workshops, conferences
etc. held earlier on the subject of informal
sector statistics may be considered by the
Delhi Group and issues/recommendations covered
therein may be documented. Important issues
from these documents may be identified for
detailed consideration.
Currently, two types of
surveys, namely industry- specific surveys
and informal sector surveys covering all relevant
industries, are being undertaken to collect
data on the informal sector. The Delhi Group
may study these options, keeping in view the
measurement objectives and the data needs
of the member countries.
It is desirable to include
agriculture, professional services, domestic
services and such other activities in the
coverage of the informal sector within the
context of the 15th ICLS Resolution.
To minimize the obsolescence
of the sampling frame, the time gap between
the listing stage and detailed canvassing
stage of informal sector surveys should be
reduced.
Micro-level studies on different
types of informal sector activities should
also be undertaken in order to have a first
hand knowledge and in-depth understanding
of the characteristics guiding the informal
sector.
Seminar
on the Use of International Comparison Programme
Data, Beijing, 16-20 June 1997
The Seminar on the Use of International Comparison
Programme (ICP) Data, organized by the secretariat
of the Economic and Social Commission for Asia
and the Pacific (ESCAP) in collaboration with
the State Statistical Bureau of China (SSB),
was held in Beijing, China, from 16 to 20 June
1997. Host facilities were made available by
the Government of China. Financial assistance
for the Seminar was provided by the Government
of Japan, supplemented by the World Bank.
The Seminar was attended by 59 participants
from the following 19 members and associate
members of ESCAP: Bangladesh, Cambodia, China,
Fiji, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Islamic Republic
of Iran, Japan, Lao People's Democratic Republic,
Malaysia, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Republic
of Korea, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand and
Viet Nam. The World Bank and the Organisation
for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD)
were represented.
The Seminar examined the results of the 1993
ICP. It noted that though the overall results
agreed with the structures observed in the previous
phases, there were nevertheless anomalies which
could be due to inaccuracies in data inputs
or imputations. The countries concerned were
requested to provide feedback by 31 July 1997
for any changes they wished to make before the
results were finalized. The Seminar noted the
meticulous efforts made by the statisticians
of China and Hong Kong in verifying the quality
of the items for which prices were provided.
It accepted the results of the binary comparison,
which will be included in the final publication
of the ESCAP 1993 ICP comparison.
The Seminar examined the results obtained through
different aggregation formulas. It noted that
a minimum spanning tree (MST) approach as developed
by a consultant could be used to link bilateral
comparisons so as to provide results for multilateral
comparisons. That approach is potentially useful
for a diverse region like ESCAP. For the future
ICP activities, the 1993 MST results could be
useful for bilateral verifications of basic
data to improve the quality of the final results.
The Seminar noted that besides the ESCAP exercise,
similar comparison programmes being undertaken
in other regions were at various stages of completion.
The coverage of about 120 countries for the
reference year 1993 was the largest of any phase
completed so far. The results of the exercises
in the OECD, other European countries and in
Africa had already been published. Those for
the Economic and Social Commission for Western
Asia (ESCWA) region had been finalized and were
in print. The results of the remaining comparisons
for the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and the
Economic Commission for Latin America and the
Caribbean (ECLAC) region were in the process
of being finalized by the end of August. The
World Bank would link all the regional results,
including those of ESCAP, and publish a globally
consistent data set denominated in US dollars
by the end of 1997.
The Seminar agreed that there should be a further
round of ICP activities in the region, with
1999 as the reference year. Eleven of the countries
represented were confident of joining the 1999
programme in the region, while eight others
could only give an indication of their participation
to the secretariat by 31 July 1997. The Republic
of Korea expressed great interest in being a
bridge country with the OECD comparison.
The Seminar noted the importance of developing
interactive software with validation and range-checking
facilities to enable participating countries
to submit all the data in one batch. That would
help ensure that data were correctly reported,
and reduce time-consuming data conversion and
cleaning by the secretariat. The Seminar agreed
that the specifications for the bills of quantities
and for producers' durables should be revised
to ensure their relevance and priceability in
the region. The World Bank indicated that it
would be tackling the area of construction.
The Seminar also felt that the specifications
for household consumption items should be reviewed
and updated for the future ICP round, and that
such preparatory work should be completed by
June 1998. That would provide countries with
sufficient time to complete their price collection
within the reference year and to report the
prices collected to ESCAP by the end of March
2000. Preparation of the 1999 ICP specifications
could make use of the Phase VI list, and participating
countries would indicate which items they were
still able to price and which they had priced
but were now obsolete, along with new items
they felt should be included. It was also agreed
that information would be distributed on which
country priced which items in the 1993 round.
For the purpose of selecting new items, the
OECD list of consumer goods, as well as that
for producers' durables, were considered useful
references for new commodities.
The Seminar viewed with interest the demonstration
of an ICP Information System developed and presented
by the State Statistical Bureau of China. The
System allowed pictures of commodities to be
stored and retrieved against their commodity
code or description, thus greatly facilitating
the exact identification of commodities, and
provided data input, validation and processing
facilities. The SSB expressed its readiness
to distribute the software, available in Chinese
and English, on request. The Seminar noted that
the software could be used in the preparation
of the 1999 specifications. The SSB confirmed
its willingness to cooperate with ESCAP in that
regard.
The Seminar noted that the aggregation methods
and formulas for producing ICP results were
still evolving, and would be the subject of
further expert work. To assist the statisticians
in their function of ensuring the reliability
of the data inputs submitted, it recommended
that solutions to practical problems that had
been discussed should be found, and that ESCAP
should facilitate the development of guidelines
to enable statisticians to respond to different
situations faced in data collection.
Preliminary
Census Results from the Cook Islands Census 1996
18,904 People on the
Cook Islands
According to the recently published provisional
census results, the Cook Islands population
stood at 18,904 on 1 December 1996. This represented
an increase of 1.5 per cent compared to the
previous census conducted in 1991. The 1996
count is the highest since the population peak
in 1971 when there were 21,322 people in the
Cook Islands.
Rarotonga remained the most populous island
with 58.7 per cent of the population residing
there. The Southern Group islands accounted
for 28.4 per cent of the population while 12.9
per cent of Cook Islanders were in the Northern
Group islands.
The de facto count referred to midnight between
30 November and 1 December 1996 (Census Night).
For practical reasons institutions such as hotels,
hostels, the prison and the hospital were visited
by Census Officers several days prior to Census
Night. Post enumeration was conducted on 2 and
3 December to confirm the actual number of occupants
of the households as at Census Night. Persons
usually residing in the Cook Islands who had
travelled overseas with cultural groups or were
attending workshops and conferences, were included
in the count.
Topics included in the Census
Demography - name, sex,
age, marital status, etc.
Geography - address,
1 year ago, duration of residence
Ethnicity & Culture
- country of birth, ethnic group, religion
Families and Households
- marital status, relationship to head of
household
Education - education
level and qualifications
Income
Work - employment status,
occupation, industry
Housing - tenure, type
of dwelling, number of rooms, household activities
Transport - vehicles
Missions
during the second and third quarters 1997
Mr A.J. Flatt, Director,
Statistics Division, undertook the following
missions:
Tokyo (20-23
May) : To represent ESCAP at the Eighth Meeting
of the Heads of National Statistical Offices
of East Asian countries.
Seoul (27-30
May): To represent ESCAP at the Workshop on
Integrating Paid and Unpaid Work into National
Policies, organized by UNDP, UNSD and UNIFEM
in conjunction with the Korean Women's Development
Institute; and to hold discussions with the
National Statistical Office.
Beijing (14-21) June): Along with Mr Loh Meng Kow
and Ms Duangjai Boonyakesanon, to organize
and service the Seminar on the Use of International
Comparison Programme Data held in Beijing
from 16 to 20 June 1997.
Istanbul (18-26 August): To participate in the 51st
session of the International Statistical Institute.
Geneva (16-18
September): To represent ESCAP at the 31st
session of the ACC Subcommittee on Statistical
Activities.
Mr M.K. Siddiqui, Chief, Statistics
Development Section undertook missions to:
Santiago (5-12 May): To attend the Seminar on Poverty
Statistics and Expert Group on Poverty Statistics,
organized by ECLAC from 7 to 9 May 1997.
Noumea (30
August - 6 September): To represent ESCAP
at the Eleventh Regional Meeting of Heads
of Statistics organized by the South Pacific
Commission (SPC), and to participate in discussions
with the aim of coordinating of operational
and other activities in statistics.
Mr Loh Meng Kow, Statistician,
undertook missions as follows:
Beijing and Guangzhou (29 April - 3 May): To discuss with the State
Statistical Bureau of China the preparations
for the Seminar on the Use of International
Comparison Programme Data scheduled for Beijing
in June 1997; and to discuss with Guangzhou
Statistical Bureau the coverage of the data
on per capita GDP they provided and to seek
supplementary data on construction.
New Delhi (19-23
May): To participate in the First Meeting
of the Expert Group on Informal Sector Statistics
(Delhi Group), organized by the Government
of India in New Delhi.
Mr Ilpo Survo, Programme Officer, undertook
a mission to:
New York (12-16 May): To participate in the Expert
Group Meeting on Development of International
Statistical Databases, contribute a paper
entitled "Experiences in developing the ESCAP
Statistical Information System (ESIS)", and
discuss cooperation arrangements regarding
the development of ESIS and UNESIS.
Ms Luisa T. Engracia, ESCAP
Adviser on Population Statistics with the UNFPA/CST
in Kathmandu, undertook a mission to:
Bangladesh (20
April - 4 May): To provide technical advice
on the possibilities of developing a national
data plan; and to review and assess existing
data collection activities to generate reproductive
health indicators in Bangladesh.
Mr L.H. Lewis, ESCAP Adviser on Population
Statistics with the UNFPA/CST in Suva, undertook
missions as follows:
Niue (10-26
April): To assist the Government of Niue in
conducting technical training workshop and
mini-census users workshop; to analyse the
1994 census data and data collected from 1996
household listing survey and assist in drafting
the reports; to give assistance and guidance
in analysing the current demographic situation
and recommend a plan of action; and advise
the Government on matters and issues relevant
for fostering policies for population and
development.
Papua New Guinea (27 April to 10 May): To undertake sectoral
reviews of the core programme areas through
desk research and field investigation as preparation
for mission on Programme Review and Strategy
Development (PRSD) and/or programme redevelopment
exercise; to assist in monitoring on-going
projects.
Papua New Guinea (25 May to 14 June): To undertake sectoral
review in Population and Development Strategies
(PDS), especially data collection/provincial
data systems etc.; and draft recommendations/strategies
for the next country programme. To undertake
follow-up mission; participate in national
consultative workshop; assist in drafting
aide memoire and country programme strategic
framework.
Marshall Islands (23 June to 4 July): To provide technical
assistance in preparing a project document
including a cost estimate for the Marshall
Islands' 1998 census of population and housing.
Fiji (18-19
July): To participate in the planning meeting
for the Seminar on Strategies for the 2000
Round of Censuses in the Pacific in Suva.
Fiji (25-30
August): To act as a resource person at the
Logframe Project Design Workshop in Nadi.
New Caledonia (1-5 September): To participate in the Eleventh
Regional Meeting of Heads of Statistics, organized
by SPC in Noumea.
Papua New Guinea (22 September - 3 October): To act as a resource
person at the Workshop Training on Logframe
Project Design in Papua New Guinea.
Mr M.N. Ozsever, ESCAP Adviser on Population
Data Processing and Database Management with
the UNFPA/CST in Bangkok, undertook missions
to:
Myanmar (20-26 April): A joint mission to assist the
Immigration and Population Department in finalizing
data entry application for Fertility and Reproductive
Health Survey (FRHS) questionnaire and to
discuss further processing and field work
activities.
Indonesia (5-8 May): To participate in the annual project
review (APR) meeting for the project "Development
of POPMAP application for analysing and evaluating
family planning programme, INS/95/P06: Phase
I", and discuss with the Ministry of Role
of Women the project proposal "Development
of recording and reporting model system of
women friendly movement programme".
Myanmar (27 August - 12 September): A joint mission
to assist Immigration and Population Department
(IPD) in conducting SPSS workshop; and to
discuss further processing of the Fertility
and Reproductive Health Survey (FRHS).
Publications
released by the Statistics Division
Women in Vanuatu - A
Country Profile, Statistical Profile No. 6
Women in the Solomon
Islands - A Country Profile, Statistical Profile
No. 7
Women in Pakistan - A
Country Profile, Statistical Profile No. 8
Women in Samoa - A Country
Profile, Statistical Profile No. 9
Statistical Indicators
for Asia and the Pacific, Volume XXVII, No.
2, 1997
Staff
movements
Ms Luisa T. Engracia,
ESCAP Adviser on Population Statistics, moved
from UNFPA/CST Kathmandu (Nepal) to the CST
Sub-team in Almaty (Kazakhstan) on 6 June
1997.
The CST Sub-team in Kazakhstan
has been establishment under the supervision
of the CST for Central and South Asia, Kathmandu
with the aim of ensuring timely and appropriate
technical assistance to the Population programmes,
including data collection in Central Asia.
Ms Heidi R. Arboleda joined the Statistics Division as Regional
Adviser on National Accounts on 7 September
1997.
Visitors
to the Statistics Division
Mr Thomas J. Walsh, Section Chief, Audit and Management Consulting
Division, Office of Internal Oversight Services,
United Nations New York.
Ms Nguyen Thi Luan, Deputy Head of Personnel Department, Vietnam
Women's Union, Hanoi.
Ms Doan Thi Tren, Deputy Chief of Female Youth Council, Youth
Union, Hanoi.
Mr Trinh Quoc Tuan, Head of Scientific Socialism Faculty of Ho
Chi Minh Academy, Hanoi.
Ms Tran Bick Thuy, IRD Officer, Vietnam Women's Union, Hanoi.
Ms Nguyen Thi Soa, Director of Women's Training School I, Hanoi.
Ms Tran Thi Thuy, Deputy Director of the Women's Training School
II, Hanoi.
Ms Anjali Bagwe, Research Centre for Women's Studies, SNDT
Women's University, Mumbai.
Ms Swarna Jayaweera, Coordinator, Centre for Women's Research,
Colombo.
Mr Chakradhari Agrawal, Secretary General, World Association for Small & Medium Enterprises (WASME), New Delhi.
Ms Mariyam Waheeda, Director, Economic Statistics, Ministry of
Planning, Human Resources and Environment,
Male.
Ms Heidi R. Arboleda, Consultant, Asian Development Bank, Manila.
Mrs Vichit Manothai, Library of Office of the Civil Service Commission,
Bangkok.
Ms Vanida Krankornchim, Office of the Civil Service Commission, Bangkok.
Mr Oliver Marnet, Economic Officer, European Union, Delegation
of the European Commission, Bangkok.
Mr Jonathan Pearse, Associate Consultant, Metra Sofres Ltd., Croydon,
England.
Mr Michael Ward, Development Data Group, International Economics
Department, International Bank for Reconstruction
(IBRD), Washington, D.C.
Mr Sultan Ahmad, Statistical Advisory Services, Development
Data Group, International Economics Department,
IBRD, Washington, D.C.
Mr Kevin W. O'Connor, Assistant Director, Statistics Department,
International Monetary Fund (IMF), Washington,
D.C.
Mr Akira Ogihara, Global Environment Research Team, Environmental
Department, Pacific Consultants Co. Ltd.,
Tokyo.>
Mr Shiro Hatakeyama, Research Program Manager, Center for Global
Environment Research, National Institute for
Environmental Studies, Tokyo
Mr Lu Haitian, Assistant to the Representative Permanent
Mission of the People's Republic of China
to ESCAP, Bangkok.
Mr Zhou Jian, First
Secretary and Assistant Representative Permanent
Mission of the People's Republic of China
to ESCAP, Bangkok.
Mr Tang Guangzhi, First Secretary and Assistant Permanent Representative
of the People's Republic of China to ESCAP,
Bangkok.
Mr Arvid Linden, Associate Expert in Disability Statistics,
Statistics Division, DESIPA, New York.
Mr M. Mosleh-Uddin, UNFPA Representative (Sudan), Khartoum.
Mr J. Sequeira, Programme Specialist, UNESCO, Bangkok.
Ms Vongurai Putananon, University of Waikato, New Zealand.
Mr Utkatu Naiker, Visiting Fellow, Development Planning Programme,
University of Queensland, Queensland.
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