Register-based Statistics

Registers and the National Statistical System

Anders Wallgren, Britt Wallgren

• Publisher: Wiley
• Year: 2022
• ISBN:
  9781119632689
• Edition: 3
• Topic: Matemáticas
• Subtopic: Probabilidad y estadística

REGISTER-BASED STATISTICS

Rediscover this authoritative guide to register-based statistics filled with significant new improvements

In the newly revised Third Edition of Register-based Statistics: Registers and the National Statistical System, Anders Wallgren and Britt Wallgren deliver a robust exploration of how register-based statistics can be used to its fullest potential. The authors describe how statistical institutes can work on long-term projects to improve administrative systems, as well as estimation methods that can improve the quality of statistical estimates based on registers with quality problems. Readers will also discover how to improve the ways register-statistical issues are introduced, as well as how to create population registers.

Finally, the authors draw on their experience from teaching and consulting in several countries to explain how to implement register-based statistics.

Key features of the third edition:

• Discusses the problems new register countries face
• Explains how registers will improve the efficiency of the national statistical system
• Clarifies the importance of the system approach
• Describes how a statistical population register can be created
• Registers-based statistics require new skills and understanding of new concepts
• Many important quality indicators are described
• Explains difficult topics in a pedagogic way

Perfect for staff at national statistical institutes and administrative and ministerial authorities belonging to national statistical systems, Register-based Statistics will also prove to be an indispensable resource for undergraduate and graduate students in statistics programs and courses, as well as survey researchers and practitioners.

CHAPTER 1
Censuses, Sample Surveys and Register Surveys

National statistical offices use three kinds of survey methodology when producing official statistics based on microdata: methods for censuses, for sample surveys and for register surveys. This book deals with the third kind of methodology – methods for register surveys, where instead of collecting data through interviewers and questionnaires, administrative registers from different administrative systems are adapted and processed to create statistical registers that are used to produce the desired estimates.

We introduce several concepts and principles that should be used when discussing register surveys. These concepts and principles form the methodological bases for this kind of survey. There is a growing interest in this area. Many countries increasingly use administrative registers for statistical purposes, and there is a growing demand for an understanding of register survey methodology.

However, preconditions differ – in some countries the preconditions are good, while in other countries there can be obstacles that make it difficult to use data from some administrative systems. We discuss such obstacles and how the national statistical system can be improved to reduce the problems. We give special attention to countries desiring to take the first steps towards a register-based statistical system.

The statistical offices in the Nordic countries started using registers during the 1960s; and experiences from these countries are important in understanding how statistical systems in other countries could be improved.

Purpose of this book

Our purpose is to describe and explain the methods that should be used for register surveys. Conducting a register survey means that a new statistical register for a specific subject matter is created with existing sources. The statistical register is then used to produce estimates required for the survey. What methods should be used in creating such a statistical register? One or more administrative registers are used when a new statistical register is created, and the statistical register can differ from the administrative sources in many ways.

A system of statistical registers consists of a number of registers that can be linked to each other. In the Nordic countries, the national statistical offices have developed systems of registers that are used in the production of statistics. When new statistical registers are created, this register system becomes an important source that can be used together with different administrative sources. Another purpose of the book is to explain how such register systems should be designed and used in the production of statistics.

When a national statistical office starts using more administrative sources, the statistical production system of that office gradually changes. From a system based on enumerators or interviewers, address lists and maps, the system will become increasingly register based. Sample surveys will be based on the Population Register or the Business Register – variables in sample surveys can come from administrative registers as well as from telephone interviews or questionnaires. In addition to the change in methods used for sample surveys, new kinds of register-based statistics can also be produced. A third purpose of the book is to explain how administrative registers can be used to change the statistical production system of a national statistical office to improve cost efficiency and statisti...