PRESS-RELEASE

On results of panel session “Impact of globalization on socioeconomic development and regional integration: do we have the right numbers?” (May 24, 2012) 

            Within the framework of V Astana Economic Forum, on May 24, 2012 the Agency on Statistics of the Republic of Kazakhstan (hereinafter – the Agency) in conjunction with the Statistics Division of UN Economic Commission for Europe has conducted a Panel session: “Impact of globalization on socioeconomic development and regional integration: do we have the right numbers?”, dedicated to the issues of international statistical community on global, regional and national levels in the framework of globalization and global financial crises.

            The welcome address was delivered by Lidia Bratanova - Director of the Statistical Division of UN Economic Commission for Europe, who is the author of numerous articles and papers on technical issues in the national accounts, price statistics, the measurement of capital, as well as the impact of globalization on economic statistics and the measurement of sustainable of development.

            Panel session was thematically divided into two parts, moderated respectively by Lidia Bratanova and Vladimir Sokolin - Chairman of the Interstate Statistical Committee of CIS.

            As part of the first module, speakers have exposed in details key issues related to problems of statisticians at national, regional and global levels.

            For example, presentations were made by leading statisticians of international organizations such as the International Monetary Fund and the Center for Statistical, Economic and Social Studies of Islamic countries (SESRIC), who shared their vision on the necessity to further develop and describe the impact of the global statistics in crises. Then, the Chairman of the Agency Alikhan Smailov highlighted the main challenges and prospects of development of national statistical offices in the context of globalization based on the example of Kazakhstan.

            Speakers came to the conclusion that for the implementation and monitoring of economic and social reform it is essential to develop national statistical capacities in order to measure the impact of globalization on the economy and society. They also stressed the importance of the support of international organizations and bilateral partners for further development of national statistical capacity in countries with economies in transition through technical cooperation and exchange of best practices, in line with international standards.

            The second module “Measuring globalization - do we have the right numbers?” discussed the availability and consistency of statistical data and statistical tools for capturing the growing interdependence of national economies.

            This topic has been presented in the contributions of high-level speakers from Australia, Germany and Russia. In particular, they discussed the measurement of social progress and the formation of international trade statistics in the context of globalization. In his speech, Deputy Australian Statistician Michael Davis has emphasized the role of national accounts statistics, which provides a solid basis for macroeconomic policy and analysis of ongoing structural changes in the economy.

            One of the main speakers Mustafa Dinc, Senior Economist/Statistician at the Development Economics Data Group of the World Bank, in his speech mentioned that the national statistical system of Kazakhstan is the best national statistical system in the region, however, will continue to improve.

            His speech was particularly relevant in view of the fact that this year the Agency in conjunction with the World Bank launched KAZSTAT project on strengthening the national statistical system of Kazakhstan, which aims to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the national statistical system to provide appropriate, timely and reliable data in accordance with international procedures and best practices.

            Thus, during the session speakers presented papers on vital issues of the development of statistics in today's world, discussed a wide range of questions related to globalization measurement, and in general, there was fruitful discussion and exchange of views.

            On the results of the session, a communiqué was accepted with the thesises expressing the general position, as well as the recommendations of the participants of the debated issues. These abstracts were submitted for inclusion in the draft recommendations of the V Astana Economic Forum for the leaders of G20.