UNITED NATIONS STATISTICAL COMMISSION and UNITED NATIONS ECONOMIC COMMISSION FOR EUROPE 5O YEARS OF THE CONFERENCE OF EUROPEAN STATISTICIANS Conceived by Carlo Malaguerra with contributions by Bodin J.-L., Garonna P., Griffin T., Ivanov Y., Kelly J.J., Korolev M., Malinvaud E., Moser C., Olenski J., Sokolin V., de Vries W., Whitworth J. UNITED NATIONS Geneva, 2003 Conference of European Statisticians Statistical Standards and Studies – No. ST/CES/54 ISBN 92-1-116855-4 Foreword The Conference of European Statisticians is an important Principal Subsidiary Body of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe. It celebrated its 50th anniversary plenary session in June 2002. The Conference has achieved a great deal during the past 50 years, and some of these achievements are summarized in the different chapters of this publication. One of the Conference’s major achievements has been the way in which it served as a “bridge” and meeting point throughout the Cold War period for statisticians in Eastern and Western Europe working in the field of Official Statistics. Despite the important differences that characterized market economy countries and centrally planned economy countries and the different approaches they used to measure economic and social phenomena, the statisticians from both groups of countries met regularly in Geneva. Under the auspices of the Conference they discussed and approved statistical standards, exchanged data and collaborated together to improve the international comparability of their national statistics. The development and adoption by the Conference of the Fundamental Principles of Official Statistics in 1991 and their endorsement by the Economic Commission for Europe in 1992 is another major achievement. The United Nations Statistical Commission also subsequently adopted these Fundamental Principles in 1994 as an international standard at the world level. The Conference has also made important advances in drawing up different sets of internationally agreed concepts, definitions and classifications and in coordinating international statistical work carried out by the various international organizations working in the ECE region. Tribute is paid in the chapters of this volume to all these and other accomplishments of the Conference. The publication does not restrict itself to looking into past achievements, for it also discusses some of the important challenges that the Conference of European Statisticians will face in the future. Some of these challenges will undoubtedly be hard to meet, but based on the experience of the last 50 years, I am confident that the Conference will confront them successfully and that it will achieve further impressive successes in the years to come. Executive Secretary and Under Secretary-General United Nations Economic Commission for Europe iii iv Table of contents INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................................1 CHAPTER 1 .......................................................................................................................................7 The League of Nations and the Conference of European Statisticians .....................7 Summary ..........................................................................................................................................7 Introduction......................................................................................................................................7 Historical Significance.....................................................................................................................7 Some familiar names........................................................................................................................8 Groundbreaking work ......................................................................................................................8 Other institutions of the day.............................................................................................................8 The 1928 International Conference..................................................................................................9 The Committee of Statistical Experts ..............................................................................................9 Sub-committees................................................................................................................................9 Conclusion and lessons to be learned ............................................................................................10 What was the League of Nations?..................................................................................................11 What was the role of the League in statistics?...............................................................................12 The 1928 Conference.....................................................................................................................12 The Committee of Statistical Experts ............................................................................................15 CHAPTER 2 .....................................................................................................................................25 Europe: Statistically Significant?..........................................................................................25 Introduction....................................................................................................................................25 Early meetings of the Statistical Commission ...............................................................................25 Birth of the Conference of European Statisticians.........................................................................28 A small group of actors..................................................................................................................31 Legacy of the League of Nations (see also Chapter 1 on the League)...........................................32 Finding its place in the world.........................................................................................................33 Benelux, OEEC and others ............................................................................................................34 Rise of the European Communities ...............................................................................................35 Three periods..................................................................................................................................37 In my Father's house are many mansions ......................................................................................38 v CHAPTER 3 .....................................................................................................................................41 The Development and Achievements of the Conference of European Statisticians up to the 1990s: the Point of View of Western Countries.............................................41 Developing integration frameworks...............................................................................................42 Increasing statistical know-how.....................................................................................................45 Organisation...................................................................................................................................45 Functions and management of national offices..............................................................................46 Methodology ..................................................................................................................................47 Environment statistics as an example ............................................................................................47 Promoting East-West statistical comparisons................................................................................48 CHAPTER 4 .....................................................................................................................................53 The Development and Achievements of the Conference up to the 1990s: the Point of View of Countries of Eastern Europe.................................................................53 CHAPTER 5 .....................................................................................................................................63 The Fundamental Principles of Official Statistics: the Breakthrough of a New Era ....................................................................................................................................................63 Text of the Fundamental Principles of Official Statistics in the ECE Region...............................73 CHAPTER 6 .....................................................................................................................................79 From the Planned to the Market Economy – the Role of the Conference of European Statisticians in the Transition Period..............................................................79 The concept of the economy in transition and its statistical implications .....................................79 Statistical implications of transition processes ..............................................................................80 General problems of transformation of statistics in transition countries .......................................85 The "transition shock" and the CES...............................................................................................87