Accuracy and reliability of Spanish regional accounts (CRE-95)

Resumen

Are estimates accurate? Are these data reliable? Questions like these are important to the producers and users of any set of statistics. This article studies the accuracy and reliability in the Gross Value Added (GVA) at basic prices, 1995 Base. All these tasks were developed within the Spanish Regional Accounts (CRE95) by means of a revision method. This method claims that the proximity of the first estimate to the definitive one can be a clue as to its quality. Many studies investigate the magnitude and nature of errors contained throughout the National Account System estimates; however, economic literature offers no option for judging accuracy and reliability in the main regional account aggregates, and so the methodology proposed by Mankiw et al. (1984) and Mankiw and Shapiro (1986) is adopted to assess the accuracy and reliability of the review process during 1999 in the GVA at basic prices according to Autonomous Communities (NUTS-2). This study analyzes five approaches that shed light on the accuracy and reliability of these revisions: examination of statistical measures of sampling biases, variances, comparison with other revisions) and analysis of revisions.