Strengthen Government Statistics Quality Management

Statistical data quality is the lifeline of statistical work. Statistical data can objectively reflect the economic and social development, can become a qualified staff of government decision-making, can meet the needs of the user community. The ability to guide and promote scientific development are dependent on the accuracy of statistical data that the statistics department provides and whether the statistical data is objective and authentic. The quality of statistical data is not only as a basis for decisions affecting the accuracy and scientific, but also directly affect the image of the reputation of the national statistical offices and government statistics credibility.Chinese statistics are introduced from the former Soviet Union and developed in the planned economy period. After twenty years of reform and development, Chinese statistics has made great progress in data quality management. However, compared to Western government statistics, there are still many statistical concepts, statistics and statistical rules of conduct that do not coincide with the rules of prevailing market economies. It mainly manifested in two aspects:First, our current government statistical work remains to " accuracy " as the first target for the statistical meaning and there is the lack of comprehensive data quality evaluation criteria; Second, China’s statistical data quality management also focus on the accuracy of statistics to carry out. There is the lack of comprehensive and whole process control and guarantee for statistical quality.February2012, the United Nations Statistical Commission issued a template, universal national quality assurance framework (NQAF). This template encourages all countries to develop national statistical quality assurance framework. For our government statistics, this is no only a challenge, but also is a historic opportunity to promote statistical deeper reforms, to change attitudes and behaviors of government statistics and to coincide statistical rules with international statistical rules. Based on the accessing to domestic and international statistical data quality management and the statistics practice with his own, the author think that Chinese statistics should learn from the West statistical methods and data quality management experience and should have comprehensive and whole process control and guarantee for statistical quality management.First, the paper introduces the status of China’s government statistical quality management and the reasons for quality management problems, and further introduces the research done and the measures taken in our country to strengthen statistical data quality management. Particularly, the paper introduces the deficiencies of those measures currently taken. Second, the paper introduces the statistical data quality management and the data quality assurance framework in the West. Especially, the paper introduces the experiences and practices that we can learn from. Finally, the paper presents a view that there should have comprehensive and whole process control and guarantee for statistical quality management. Specifically, we should strengthen the quality control of our government statistics in three aspects:First, there should have a comprehensive assessment of quality of statistical data; Second, the whole process control and guarantee should be strengthen in the processes of Statistics Department survey project; Finally,there should have comprehensive guarantee for statistical quality management, based on the existing statistical data quality management.