Official statistics are public goods supplied by a regulated and indepen- dent state monopoly and according to standards generally accepted as objective. In democratic societies, statistics is crucial as a reference in public debate; thus reliable, accurate, timely and internationally comparable information on various topics are deemed essential. This monopoly which took a long time to emerge and to consoli- date through the 19th century together with the founding of the national states, seems now to be threatened by the availability of free “Big Data” sources on one side, and on the other side, by the mounting scepticism of public opinion concerning holistic information provided by state bureaucracies. “Big Data” and “post-factual” are the two key words representing dynamics that make it necessary to ask once more well- known questions, namely, what task and position official statistics should have in our society, how quality of information could be preserved under new circumstances, and lastly, how to ensure sustainable public confidence in these statistics.

Governance der amtlichen Statistik: Vertrauen in die Qualität von Informationen / Radermacher, WALTER JOSEF. - In: ASTA. WIRTSCHAFTS- UND SOZIALSTATISTISCHES ARCHIV. - ISSN 1863-8155. - STAMPA. - 11:2(2017), pp. 65-81. [10.1007/s11943-017-0207-7]

Governance der amtlichen Statistik: Vertrauen in die Qualität von Informationen

Walter Josef Radermacher
2017

Abstract

Official statistics are public goods supplied by a regulated and indepen- dent state monopoly and according to standards generally accepted as objective. In democratic societies, statistics is crucial as a reference in public debate; thus reliable, accurate, timely and internationally comparable information on various topics are deemed essential. This monopoly which took a long time to emerge and to consoli- date through the 19th century together with the founding of the national states, seems now to be threatened by the availability of free “Big Data” sources on one side, and on the other side, by the mounting scepticism of public opinion concerning holistic information provided by state bureaucracies. “Big Data” and “post-factual” are the two key words representing dynamics that make it necessary to ask once more well- known questions, namely, what task and position official statistics should have in our society, how quality of information could be preserved under new circumstances, and lastly, how to ensure sustainable public confidence in these statistics.
2017
Amtliche Statistiken sind öffentliche Güter, welche von einem regulierten und unabhängigen Staatsmonopol und nach Normen, die allgemein als objektiv akzeptiert werden, geliefert werden. In demokratischen Gesellschaften sind sie als Referenz in der öffentlichen Diskussion wichtig; zuverlässige, genaue, zeit- nahe und international vergleichbare statistische Informationen zu verschiedenen Themen werden als wesentlich erachtet. Dieses Monopol, das im 19. Jahrhundert eine lange Zeit benötigte, um zusammen mit der Gründung der Nationalstaaten zu entstehen und sich zu konsolidieren, scheint nun bedroht zu sein, und zwar einer- seits durch die Verfügbarkeit von „freien“ großen Datenquellen und andererseits durch die anhaltende Skepsis der öffentlichen Meinung über Informationen, die von Staatsbürokratien zur Verfügung gestellt werden. „Big Data“ und „postfaktisch“ sind mithin die beiden Stichworte, die es erforderlich machen, erneut bekannte Fragen zu stellen, nämlich erstens, was amtlichen Statistik in unserer Gesellschaft für eine Aufgabe und Position haben soll, zweitens, wie die Qualität der Informationen unter neuen Gegebenheiten gesichert und drittens, wie das Vertrauen in diese Statistiken dauerhaft hergestellt werden kann.
big data; governance; official statistics; quality; trust; statistics and probability; social sciences (all); economics, econometrics and finance (all) ; 2001 economics, econometrics and finance (miscellaneous)
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Governance der amtlichen Statistik: Vertrauen in die Qualität von Informationen / Radermacher, WALTER JOSEF. - In: ASTA. WIRTSCHAFTS- UND SOZIALSTATISTISCHES ARCHIV. - ISSN 1863-8155. - STAMPA. - 11:2(2017), pp. 65-81. [10.1007/s11943-017-0207-7]
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/11573/1135312
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