Fine Tuning Global Linking Procedures
[see Task Force on PPP Compilation and Computation]
The global linking in the 2011 ICP based on the global core approach and CAR procedure is rather straightforward. However, the actual linking had many exceptions: dual regional participation of some countries (Russia, Egypt and Sudan); singleton countries, Cuba, the Caribbean and Pacific islands were linked indirectly (not as a part of global linking) to the global comparison via other regions and individual countries; and the CIS countries were linked to the Eurostat-OECD comparison via Russia. Some GDP components also posed challenges for linking, as the Eurostat-OECD approach for those components differed from that followed by ICP regions. These components included health, education and construction. There is an urgent need to revisit global linking procedure and fine-tune it to address these issues:
- Assess impact of individual countries on global and regional results, and investigate if the reliability of the global comparison can be improved with a two-stage linking where the core countries are linked first, then the rest is linked to them without disturbing the core;
- Assess the possibility of linking the CIS to other regions directly through the global core approach and CAR procedure; and
- Develop a strategy to accommodate special participation cases and specific GDP components such as health, education and construction.