As to the improvement of present data availability at European level (in particular with reference to the
fifteen “old” Member States), the most important and urgent target is to implement the proposed
enlargement towards a wider information system focused on quality aspects of public expenditure.
Our proposals on possible priorities and our preliminary findings about the possibilities to implement the
various steps of the envisaged process of enlargement of the information system on QPF are open to
discussion.
As we have already noted, we can say that – generally speaking – the main part of the objectives listed in
our paper can be achieved, tough not immediately and provided specific commitment and additional
resources are assigned to the producers of data.
On the basis of 14 questionnaires received by respondent countries (the average answers to each question
shown in annex refer to 12 countries only, having excluded Hungary and Czech Republic questionnaires
due to their large incompleteness), it is possible to say that a reduction limited reduction (3 months) in
the transmission deadline might be possible in the medium period only. The main common problems in
developing the information system are related to backward data and data from the local government
level, while those encountered to elaborate future or more recent data are of lower importance.
Considering the results on average, we can say that the mean answer to various questions falls between C
and D (C being equal to “Data, which can be produced rather easily without substantial effort.
Data of this category could be submitted within short time”, and D = “Data, which would need to be
ascertained new. These data might be produced in the future, provided that a common commitment /
financing has been made (e.g. by ECOFIN)”. The answer E (= “data that cannot be produced - at least
not with any tolerable effort”) are particularly frequent only in the case of backward estimates (especially
for years 1990-1995). Therefore, since the more urgent need of data is represented by the information on
current and more recent period (say, from 1999 onwards), the global final outcome of the survey can be
considered rather positively.
In addition, we received some written and oral comments by respondent countries. Some of them (like
those by Sweden, Spain and Italy) are very supporting, other ones are less optimistic (like that by
Germany). In the latter case, however, if the attention is put on the perspectives – instead of on the
present “state of art” – i.e. on the possibility to carry out new activities to develop the project in the next
future, the conclusions should be more favourable.
The strongest encouragement to start the implementation project of an enlarged dataset to support the
analysis of the quality of public finance is represented by the answer given by countries to the last
question of the survey: “How much of the data of 1-digit COFOG or 2-digit COFOG is (or could be)
won by original census and how much is (or could be) indirectly estimated (e.g. through sample / partial
surveys or through indicators like the share of workers employed / wages and salaries paid to produce
services in each function)?”. The average answer for indirect estimations (see annex) is B (that is
between 10% and 25%) when data are referred to the 2nd digit of the COFOG classification. That means
that the statistics the majority of countries is able to produce in the next future will be of a rather high
quality level.
A last remark: we think that a very important tool to start (and to foster) the process of enlargement of
the existing data system should be the integration of the transmission programme in force with the table 4
above to be filled in on a voluntary basis. This will allow the countries “willing and able” to provide the
relevant (and even partial) information already available (or easily obtainable) starting from the next
transmission. It should be very important in order to permit to start a meaningful analysis of the quality
of public finance. The survey results described above (and synthetically presented in annex) support this
positive view.