Walter Radermacher

Ludwig-Maximilians-University of Munich | LMU · Institut für Statistik

Since the “Earth Summit” in Rio de Janeiro 1992 the term “sustainable development” determines the third and current phase of environmental policy. A precise and commonly accepted definition of sustainable development (s.d.) is still missing. There are, nevertheless, some elements in the philosophy of sustainable development which–even if they are s...

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Le besoin de statistiques n’a jamais été aussi présent. Les demandes de données couvrent de vastes aspects de nos sociétés, y compris des domaines relativement nouveaux tels que le bien- être et le changement climatique. La dernière crise financière et économique a conduit au renforcement de la gouvernance économique de l’Union européenne et mis en...

Good statistics can do a lot of good: They help to base decisions on factual arguments, they can simplify conflict resolution. This requires an understanding of the opportunities and risks, the strengths and limitations of statistical facts. Overestimation leads to exaggerated expectations and disappointments, underestimation to missed opportunitie...

In the Corona pandemic, it became clear with burning clarity how much good quality statistics are needed, and at the same time how unsuccessful we are at providing such statistics despite the existing technical and methodological possibilities and diverse data sources. It is therefore more than overdue to get to the bottom of the causes of these is...

The perspectives of official statistics in times of datafication

If one assesses the quality of statistics according to whether they are fit for purpose, one must put the question of this very purpose at the beginning, not only for the production of statistics, but also for their use and the literacy required. In this contribution, public discourse, political communication and decision-making processes are place...

The growing importance of statistical evidence, data and information for political decisions is reflected in the handy and popular formulation ’Data for Policy’ (D4P). Under this cover, well-known guiding themes, such as the modernisation of the public sector, or evidence-informed policy-making, are led to new solutions with new technologies and inf...

An infinite amount of data and a variety of ways to use it promise an individualisation of statistics; the tools, algorithms and (artificial) intelligence of data science are available to everyone. The age of statistics is being replaced by the data era. There is a promise in this, similar to that for the internet as a whole, of an equal and thus d...

40 years professional life as a statistician

At the end of 2019, when the contribution “Governing-by-the-numbers/Statistical governance” was intended to initiate a reflection and discussion on the www.officialstatistics.com discussion platform on the future of official statistics in a digital and globalised society, it could not yet be foreseen how much the world would change in 2020. Eighteen m...

This is the second blog post of 2 contributions by Walter Radermacher, former Director-General of Eurostat and Chief Statistician of the European Union. Here, Walter employs the metaphor of transport infrastructures to highlight the importance of adequate policy frameworks for official statistics, including literacy, laws, rules, and the long-term...

This is the first blog post of 2 contributions by Walter Radermacher, former Director-General of Eurostat and Chief Statistician of the European Union. Here, Walter introduces the current social malaise around statistics, their historical role in underpinning public policy and suggests fundamental questions about the future of the discipline. Part...

Official statistics lack financial reserves, personnel and know-how. Yet the pandemic has once again made clear how important reliable statistics are for political debates and decisions. Der amtlichen Statistik fehlt es an finanziellen Reserven, Personal und Know-how. Dabei hat die Pandemie wieder einmal deutlich gemacht, wie wichtig zuverlässige Sta...

Indicators are part of daily life, modern politics and public debate in times of crises and their solutions. The question arises to what extent indicators embody a special form of statistical information, whether a separate indicator-chapter in statistical methodology is needed and what the content of this chapter should be. This paper considers di...

Editorial: A series of manuscripts in the Journal on the ‘The future role of Official Statistics in the informational ecosystem’ was introduced in the December 2019 issue (Vol 35/4) with the opening article ‘Governing by the numbers; Statistical Governance Reflections on the future of official statistics in a digital and globalised society’ (Radermach...

Statistics are undergoing major changes; the era of digitalisation and globalisation as well as various crises place immense demands on rapid change. It is not enough to think in terms of categories of information technology and statistical methodology. Rather, what is needed is not only a Dat4Policy but also a Policy4Data, informational governance...

This article is based on a blog post for Data & Policy (https://medium.com/data-policy/how-statistics-can-help-going-beyond-covid-19-22bb2ce92440 ), an open access journal publish-ing research, case studies, and discussion about the impact of data science on policy and governance. It takes the current corona pandemic as an opportunity to formulate...

Editorial: A series of manuscripts in the Journal on the ‘The future role of Official Statistics in the informational ecosystem’ was introduced in the December 2019 issue (Vol. 35/4) with the opening article ‘Governing by the numbers; Statistical Governance Reflections on the future of official statistics in a digital and globalised society’ (Radermac...

It is rightly pointed out that in the midst of a pandemic crisis of enormous proportions, we needed high-quality statistics with extreme urgency, but that instead we are in danger of drowning in an ocean of data and information. Rarely has the lack of adequate statistics to make essential policy decisions and to win popular support for their conseq...

Official Statistics in the context of the COVID-19 crisis This discussion on the SJIAOS discussion platform (www.officialstatistics.com) is based on the following statement. Now epidemiology is most important, in the next phase other statistics will become relevant again! The enormous importance of statistics in the preparation of difficult polit...

This chapter is about the ‘making of’ official statistics. The processes, structures and actors that are crucial for the high quality are to be presented. Official statistics are understood as industry that produces information. Consequently, in the presentation, the terms and concepts of modern management are used throughout. The first section sta...

In this chapter, we open a large box with questions and reflections about the scientific background of official statistics. First, it will be about knowledge: how can we know that we know what we know (or do not know)? Then we will shed light on the social position, role and function of statistics (in the sense of science, information and instituti...

What the future has in store for us is, not easily predictable. Certainly, foresight does not lie in the very nature of statisticians, who usually look in the rear-view mirror. Nevertheless, there are some trends or megatrends, the effects of which are not yet known in detail, to which one will undoubtedly have to adapt. Above all, because official...

Official statistics have shown an excellent record in the role of trustworthy authority in the intersection of three fundamental rights: privacy (the right of a person to privacy), freedom of information (the right of a person to open and transparent information) and statistics (the right of a person to live in an informed society). 200 years of ex...

Statistics is the science of learning from data. Certainly, it is a modern technology that is part of the standards of today’s information age and is used in a wide array of fields. Statistics is a method to reduce complexity, separate signals from noise and distinguish significant from random. Statistical results are used for knowledge creation an...

This book explores official statistics and their social function in modern societies. Digitisation and globalisation are creating completely new opportunities and risks, a context in which facts (can) play an enormously important part if they are produced with a quality that makes them credible and purpose-specific. In order for this to actually ha...

Challenges and opportunities for statistics in the new informational ecosystem

Twenty-two years after the 51st Session of the International Statistical Institute in Istanbul in 1997, many of the statistical questions and answers on the topic of Sustainable Development already presented by the author at the time are still valid: "Sustainable Development can only be defined and achieved by a complicated restructuring process of...

This text outlines the principles of the capital approach and of the systems approach to measuring sustainable development. In the capital approach, human, social, natural, and economic capital are considered separately, with indicators presented on their stocks and how they change over time. While significant progress has been achieved in operatio...

In recent years, the quantity of digital data created, stored and processed in the world has grown exponentially. The demand for statistical information has never been so apparent. For ‘official statistics’, the public informational infrastructure provided by statistical authorities, this new era offers not only essential opportunities but also man...

Official Statistics in the era of globalisation and digitisation

Between data obesity and knowledge creation: How can indicators contribute to reduce complexity?

Official Statistics in the Digital Age: Going Beyond the Technical Debate

In recent years, the quantity of digital data created, stored and processed in the world has grown exponentially. The demand for statistical information has never been so apparent. In order for O cial Statistics to continue to function as a universal language for all kinds of societal interactions and decision-making, it is essential that the produ...

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, zeitnahe und international vergleichbare statis...

Die Quantifizierung von Umweltschäden und ihre Internalisierung in das volkswirtschaftliche Rechnungswesen sind die grundsätzliche Zielsetzung von Umweltökonomischen Gesamtrechnungen. Eine direkte Anwendung der Methoden, die im Rahmen der Monetarisierung von Umweltschäden aus mikro‐ökonomischer Perspektive entwickelt worden sind, ist für diese Aufg...

Tony Atkinson is universally celebrated for his outstanding contributions to the measurement and analysis of inequality, but he never saw the study of inequality as a separate branch of economics. He was an economist in the classical sense, rejecting any sub-field labelling of his interests and expertise, and he made contributions right across econ...

Tony Atkinson is universally celebrated for his outstanding contributions to the measurement and analysis of inequality, but he never saw the study of inequality as a separate branch of economics. He was an economist in the classical sense, rejecting any sub-field labelling of his interests and expertise, and he made contributions right across econ...

Statistics is a key for people empowerment High-quality statistics strengthen democracy by allowing citizen access to key information that enhances accountability. Access to solid statistics is a fundamental "right" that permits choices and decision based on information. Without statistics there cannot be a well grounded and participated democracy....

The Quality Declaration of the ESS demonstrate the competitive advantage of European statistics, what makes them different from other data The Quality Declaration is a self-commitment, a continuous self- engagement of all members of the European Statistical System (ESS) builds on all the efforts that the ESS deployed in order to guarantee the devel...

Statistics is the science of learning from data. It is a modern technology that is part of the standards of today’s information age and society and is used in a wide array of practical fields. ‘Official statistics’ is one of these domains of applications, belonging to those with the longest history. The relationship between official statistics as a...

Why going beyond statistical methodology? - Borderline of official statistics: Composites, dashboards etc. To be produced with the same brand? - Caution: This is a potent medication. Follow the prescribed schedule exactly to avoid the risk of potentially severe side effects! - Feedback loops: Any observed statistical regularity will tend to collaps...

Macro-scopic accounting: an alternative / complementary concept and procedural way to approach (eco-)systems

Resilience and Risk: are they helping to measure whether we live well within the boundaries of the planet? How do measurement and metrics interact with policy life cycles and decision making

Data Revolution, Official Statistics and Society: A two way dynamic interaction, Quality of Information under new circumstances

Progress of societies? Well-being of citizens? Trans-generational impact of policies? To answer such fundamental questions and much more, the European Commission published, in August 2009, its Communication on “GDP and Beyond: Measuring Progress in a Changing World.” Through a co-operative project, co-chaired by Eurostat and INSEE (France), the ESS...

This article is an edited transcript of a panel dis- cussion held at the 2013 Hong Kong World Statisti- cal Conference (WSC). The Panel topics were cen- tred on new themes facing National Statistical Insti- tutes (NSIs). The panel was chaired by Stephen Pen- neck, then President, IAOS. He also produced this edited transcript. There were four panell...

Need for research in official statistics; challenges, opportunities, instruments

Die europäische Statistik wandelt sich von einem koordinierten Zusammenschluss nationaler Statistiksysteme zu einem genuin Europäischen Statistischen System (ESS). Im Verlauf dieser Anpassung an die neuen Gegebenheiten geht es um konsistente Statistikprodukte, effiziente Produktionsprozesse und Qualität der Informationen. Qualität, Vertrauen und Au...

European Statistical System (ESS) vision (2009) and Joint strategy (2010) Contrasting ESS and HLG-BAS vision Cooperation between two levels is possible (eg. SNA, SDMX) and necessary Direction for cooperation and work at GSS level

This paper documents the presentation slides of a reading held at the 19th Wissenschaftlichen Kolloquium "Wohlfahrtsmessung – Beiträge aus Wissenschaft und amtlicher Statistik zum Stiglitz-Sen-Fitoussi-Report", November 12, 2010 in Wiesbaden. Dieses Working Paper dokumentiert die Folien des Vortrags beim 19. wissenschaftlichen Kolloquium "Wohlfahrt...

Eurostat (Luxembourg) antonio.baigorri@ec.europa.eu Richard Laux: UK Statistics Authority (United King dom) richard.laux@statistics.gov.uk Walter Radermacher: Eurostat (Luxembourg) walter.radermacher@ec.europa.eu

Official statistics are a comprehensive information system with good coverage of social, economic, environmental and institutional themes. One of the core competences of the statistical system is to produce and maintain consistent time series of data. It is with these time series that we can observe that the world around us is changing. In addition...

Interaction between policy life cycle and different components of the product portfolio of official statistics

Opening Presentation by Walter Radermacher, Chair of UNCEEA http://unstats.un.org/unsd/envaccounting/ceea/meetings/lod3.htm

Challenges for the next 10 years " on 24-25 April 2008 " The role of networks and competence centres in the development, production and dissemination of statistics " 1. Prologue: Thank you very much, Mr. Keuning, for your invitation to this conference about work-sharing models within the European Statistical System (ESS) – a conference which I thin...

Statistical offices in Europe, in particular the Federal Statistical Office in Germany, are meeting users' ever more demanding requirements with innovative and appropriate responses, such as the multiple sources mixed-mode design model. This combines various objectives: reducing survey costs and the burden on interviewees, and maximising data quali...

- In the production of goods, more energy is needed in Germany than in the production of all goods consumed in Germany - The energy expenditure for the production of the German export goods rose substantially more strongly in the period 1995 to 2004 than with the imported goods - The energy intensity in the production of export goods has dropped si...

Official statistics, measurement of progress, sustainable development, indicators, portfolio of statistical products, user-producer-dialogue

Die Datenerhebungsprozesse in der amtlichen Statistik unterliegen einem tief greifenden Wandel. Zu diesem Wandel haben verschiedene Faktoren beigetragen: So verlangen die Auskunftgebenden oftmals eine spürbare Verringerung der Belastung. Gleichzeitig wünschen viele Nutzer tiefer gegliederte Informationen in einer wachsenden Zahl von Bereichen. Die...

1. Udržitelný rozvoj Povědomí o environmentálních problémech všeobecně rostlo od první zprávy Římské-ho klubu před 25 lety a od té doby, co se "ropná krize" stala horkým bodem veřejné deba-ty. Mezitím se perspektivy diskusí environmentálních problémů značně změnily nebo obo-hatily: v první fázi během sedmdesátých let se lidé zajímali především o vy...

The reduction of complexity by means of indicators – Case studies in the environmental domain

Die Anforderungen aus statistischer Sicht im Kontext der Indikatorenbildung werden unter dem Schlagwort „Qualität statistischer Information“ diskutiert. Die aktuellen nationalen und internationalen Diskussionen um die Qualitätsdimensionen statistischer Daten machen deutlich, dass über die bisher genannten methodischen Aspekte hinaus auch beispielsw...

One of the key principles of quality management in official statistics is user orientation. The types of users are manifold and the relationship between users and producers is very complex. This difficult situation requires much attention and will be one of the main fields of interest in the next years. One important reason for the great variety of...

In this paper, we discuss the background of German Environmental Economic Accounting (GEEA). One of the elements of GEEA is material and energy flow analysis. The corresponding accounts are presented in the Material and Energy Flow Information System (MEFIS). This data base can be used for many purposes including application in the National Account...