economic research and policy analysis branch may 6, 2010 access to business micro-data to support...

Economic Research and Policy Analysis Branch

May 6, 2010

Access to Business Micro-Data to Support Economic Research and Policy Analysis: Where Do We Go From Here?By

Annette Ryan

Director General, Economic Research and Policy Analysis Branch and

Chief Economist, Industry Canada

2MICRO-ECONOMIC POLICY ANALYSIS BRANCH

International Experiences With Data Access

Various different ‘modes’ of access to business micro-data are possible to better support the development, research and analysis of policy issues on business productivity and competitiveness, innovation and marketplace framework policies.

– Deloitte (2010), “Unlocking government : How data transform democracy”Various technologies are available to facilitate access to business micro-data

– Traditional direct access (e.g. Statistics Canada Federal Research Data Center)– Indirect access (the researcher send his file of codes to an employee of the

statistical agency who run it for him)– Remote access (e.g. VPN access)– Experimental random files (random files that reproduce the main descriptive

statistics of the original database)International practices

– Australian Bureau of Statistics• The Remote Access Data Laboratory initiative allow to access confidential

databases. – Office for National Statistics (UK)

• ONS has recently develop a coherent framework to access confidential micro data where remote access plays a central role.

– United States• Innovative and a leader in technology development to grant access to micro-data.


What Would be Needed to Facilitate Access to Data While Respecting Statistics Canada Confidentiality Requirements

Critical success factors to access confidential data and conduct research is capacity.

Appropriate structure and resources have to be in place to facilitate access while respecting the provisions of the Statistics Act.

– Organization (e.g. availability of subject matter resources to vet outputs)– Physical installation (e.g. lab with computers)– A transparent protocol that clearly defines the rules (e.g. rules and user guide to

release the results)

To secure resources and develop access structures, it is important to demonstrate the benefit of access.

– Research done with micro-data can help explaining the innovation slowdown observed in Canada since 2000, by e.g.

• Better understanding how competitiveness affects innovation. • Determining the distribution of productivity within an industry. • Analyzing the dynamics at the firm-level. • Evaluating business innovation support programs to assess the

effectiveness of the actual policy mix.


Source: Deloitte (2010) – Unlocking government : How data transform democracy

More Open Government


More Innovative Government



Smarter Government



Data Access for Government Employees

There is currently no distinction in terms of access conditions for non-Statistics Canada employees.

– Academics and government sponsored projects are subject to the same restrictions in terms of accessibility and outputs release.

Privileged access to federal department researchers and analysts can contribute to improve capacity, timeliness, and relevance.

– What are the lessons for Canada from international experiences?

Critical that any access respects the Statistics Act.


Where Do We Go From Here?

Data to support policy research and analysis are available from different sources within the existing framework.

– Existing sources (i.e. previous survey data or administrative data).– New sources (e.g. new survey or administrative databases such as SIBS and

LFE from GBPS).– Linkages (linking new and existing data sources to each other).

Given the fiscal context, the medium focus might shift on leveraging existing data.

The experience with the General Business Panel Survey highlights some important points.

– Importance of securing capacity and physical access.– Exchange of knowledge between researchers and Statistics Canada on subject

matter is critical.– Transparent and efficient rules to facilitate the divulgation and release of results.

economic research and policy analysis branch may 6, 2010 access to business micro-data to support...

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