ISIC Revision 4: Toptop Structure for reporting data by activity: What are national accounting needs

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ISIC Revision 4 Top-top Structure for reporting
data by activity What are national accounting
needs in revision of ISIC (and CPC)?

• William Cave
• OECD Statistics Directorate

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ISIC rev 4 A Top-top Structure? What are OECD
needs?

• Eurostat proposal for an aggregation structure of
  revised ISIC and NACE
• for reporting of national accounts data by
  activity
• need for new high-level data reporting structure
  for OECD national accounts community
• need to revise A6/A17/A31/A60 agggregations
• What are SNA needs for revision of the Central
  Product Classification (CPC)?

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What is ISIC?

• International Standard Industrial Classification
  of All Economic Activities (ISIC)
• One of UN family of international reference
  statistical classifications
• The official activity classification of SNA
• Original ISIC 1948
• Rev 1 1958, Rev 2 1968, Rev 3 1989
• Minor Revision 3.1 2002, Revision 4 planned for
  2007
• To be standard classification of productive
  economic activities
• To classify economic entities (units) according
  to activity they carry out

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What is CPC?

• CPC developed in 1980s and 90s principally to
  provide the first internationally agreed product
  list for goods and services.
• For goods less detailed than trade products in
  Harmonised System
• Used indirectly to help build economic statistics
  on output, prices and trade
• Currently on CPC version 1.1 agreed in 2002
• Plan to revise CPC for 2007
• Proposals sought by UNSD for 10 October

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Design principles priorities for ISIC rev 4

• Improve international comparability
• convergence of regional classifications
• E.g. NAICS/NACE/JSIC/ANZSIC
• engage more countries and regions in ISIC design
• target for international comparability at least
  at 2 digit level
• Relevance
• Information sector, internet Telecoms
• OECD ICT definition
• environmental services
• new technologies
• growing business service sector
• health services
• Agriculture
• Continuity
• Level of detail for an international
  classification?

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ISIC 3 and ISIC 4 top-level

• ISIC 3 has 17 tabulation categories (sections)
• ISIC 4 proposes 21 sections
• ISIC 3 has 60 two digit divisions
• ISIC 4 proposes 87 two digit divisions
• UNSC agreed that target level for international
  comparability is (at least) two digit level

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ISIC rev 3 Structure
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ISIC Rev 4 Draft
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Whats new?

• New groupings
• Information and communication sector
• water supply, sewerage, waste management and
  remediation
• More tabulation categories for services
• professional technical, and business services
• administrative and support services
• real estate, rental and leasing services
• art, entertainment and recreation
• More divisions ( to increase international
  comparability)
• for new groupings and growing services
• in manufacturing and construction
• all the above
• human health services

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The ISIC revision mechanism and process

• The revision is ultimately controlled by UN
  Statistics Commission (Heads of National
  Statistics Offices)
• Directed by UN Expert Group on Economic and
  Social Classifications (experts from about 30
  countries and international organisations)
• Work done by Technical Sub-group of Expert Group
  (8-10 countries plus international orgns)

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ISIC Revision Processapproximate timetable

• Worldwide consultation closes November 2004
• TSG meet Spring 2005
• Revised draft goes to UN Expert Group June 2005
• Final draft goes to UNSC December 2005 for
  approval
• Prepare full publication
• Publish early 2007

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Regional Classifications?

• NAICS minor revision 2007
• NACE plans to revise in 2007 - derived from ISIC
• ANZSIC 06- related to NAICS
• JSIC introduced IC sector in 2002 converged with
  ISIC and NAICS but constrained by ministries-
• expect convergence to continue after next
  revision
• Others? China, India, Mercosur, Russia

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What are OECDs current set of ISIC 3 NA data
aggregations?

• A6
• A17 ISIC rev 3 Sections
• A31 ISIC rev 3 Sections 15 manufacturing
  sub-sections
• A60 ISIC two digit divisions

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Top-top structure for ISICEurostat proposal

• National accounts needs fewer than 21 categories
  for reporting summary data by activity
• Eurostat propose
• A6 becomes A9
• A60 becomes A65 (not A87)
• Suggests a reordering of ISIC with Public
  Administration moving up

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A6gtgtA9?
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Questions for delegates

• Are Top-top A9 proposals suitable for data
  reporting in OECD internationally?
• Are A65 proposals useful for OECD reporting?
• Should OECD or UN be proposing a set of data
  reporting aggregations? (A9/A21/A35/A87)? By
  when?
• Should CPC revision address supply-use needs?

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Thank you for your attention