In a 2005 Report on the Observance of Standards and Codes (ROSC), the International Monetary Fund (IMF) anticipated that Honduras would begin participating in the IMF's Special Data Dissemination Standard (SDDS) by end-2007, but as of May 2008 the SDDS website still does not list Honduras as a participant. The IMF's General Data Dissemination System (GDDS), on the other hand, does list Honduras as a participant. Honduras is shown as having first posted its metadata with the GDDS on September 29, 2005. The 2005 ROSC identified several areas where Honduras does not yet meet GDDS requirements. These deficiencies relate to insufficient coverage, weaknesses in source data, inadequate dissemination of documentation on methodology, and insufficient provision of component detail to permit cross-checking of statistical data.

General Overview

According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) website for the Special Data Dissemination Standard (SDDS), Honduras had not yet become a subscriber as of May 6, 2008. The IMF's General Data Dissemination System (GDDS) website, however, does list Honduras as a participant in its less prescriptive program. As of the publication of the IMF's 2005 Article IV Consultation report, Honduras had set a target of end-2007 for transitioning from the GDDS to the more stringent practices required of participants in the SDDS. But as is evident from the information on the IMF SDDS website, this target has yet to be realized.

The IMF's most recent Data Module Report on the Observance of Standards and Codes (ROSC) for Honduras was published in 2005, wherein it was stated that "Honduras meets many of the GDDS recommendations for the core statistical frameworks and recommended indicators" (p. 5). However, the ROSC noted a number of problem areas in the Honduran data dissemination regime. The ROSC identified three agencies that bore primary responsibility for producing official statistics covered by the GDDS. These are the Central Bank of Honduras (CBH), which handles national accounts, price, balance-of-payments, and monetary data; the Secretariat of Finance (SoF), which handles government finance and public debt data; and the National Institute of Statistics (NIS), which is concerned with social and demographic data. Each of these institutions maintains a website via which the public can access much of the statistical data. While the ROSC found Honduran data to be generally consistent with GDDS requirements for periodicity and timeliness, it noted serious shortcomings in coverage for some data. The ROSC also noted that certain data, such as production indices, are not made publicly available, nor are quarterly estimates of external debt. The ROSC pointed out that there was a "long delay in the dissemination of official reserves" (p. 6), adding that "coverage problems affect data on the operations of the general government, while periodicity/timeliness deficiencies affect financial survey data" (p. 6).

According to the ROSC, data quality would be enhanced with the public dissemination of methodology, sources, and component detail that would allow both intra- and inter-sectorially reconciliation. The ROSC further found that data integrity could be enhanced by "disclosure of the legal framework for the collection, compilation, and dissemination of data, including the provisions governing confidentiality of individual responses" (p. 6). Specifically, the terms and conditions under which data is compiled and disseminated should be more completely disclosed and made more readily accessible. The ROSC notes that the Law of the National Institute of Statistics addresses some issues relating to statistical dissemination.

The ROSC noted in 2005 that Honduras has initiated several plans to improve its data dissemination practices. For instance, it reported that the CBH intends to improve its statistical coverage and techniques, and to publish quarterly national accounts. The ROSC adds that "plans are in place for the official publication of a new [producer price index] with expanded coverage and new weights based on the results of the Economic Survey of 2000" (p. 7). The SoF has begun transitioning to the use of the Government Finance Statistics Manual, 2001 edition (GFSM2001) and has begun to expand its central administration data coverage. There is also a medium-term goal to transition to the fifth edition of the Balance of Payments Manual (BPM5). The ROSC adds that, "in the short-term, the aim is to increase significantly the resources for compiling external sector data, to foster survey related activities, and to adopt international standards for recording foreign trade of the maquila sector... on a gross basis rather than recording related value added under services" (p. 7).

The Law of the National Institute of Statistics came into force in 2000. This law created a National Statistical System comprising all public sector entities engaged in statistical activity. Chief among these entities is the NIS, which is mandated to coordinate the work of all other statistical entities and to create an over-arching National Statistical Plan. The law also calls for the creation of a National Statistics Commission to advise the NIS and which would include members drawn from all public-agency statistical units. Provisions in the law cover the issue of confidentiality of individual responses and obligate all statistics-generating public entities to provide the NIS with any data it may require.

The Statistical Issues appendix of the IMF's 2006 First Review Under the Three-Year Arrangement Under the Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility report evaluated the state of Honduran statistics as of that year. According to the report, the banking system, public finance, trade, and external debt data met minimum standards for the purpose of surveillance and program monitoring. However, financial-sector institutional coverage was described as "incomplete," and reporting was subject to lags. The IMF recommended the development of "a consistent and reliable method... for deriving estimates of national accounts by expenditure and private capital flows" (p. 46). The IMF's 2006 report also recommended improvements to the way in which monetary data could be reported for publication in the International Finance Statistics. According to the IMF report, Honduran balance-of-payments data follows the Balance-of-Payments Manual, fourth edition (BPM4), but the transition to BPM5 was already underway. The 2006 IMF report also addressed the SoF's performance regarding government finance statistics and their dissemination. According to the report, the SoF's data dissemination responsibility extends only to central administration data, but it also compiles non-financial public-sector data for more limited use: internally and for submission to the IMF's Western Hemisphere Department. In recent times, the SoF has failed to provide government finance statistics data to the Government Finance Statistics Yearbook, and while the CBH continues to submit data to the International Financial Statistics, it does so only with "considerable delay" (p. 48).

In 2006 the Law of Transparency and Public Access to Information was passed addressing overall transparency in the public sector. The CBH website discloses a relatively new addition to its services, specifically dedicated to the concept of transparency. The website is available in Spanish only, but provides access to transparency-related legislation, a statement of the CBH's mandate and mission, and documents relating to its past and current monetary policy activities.

A June 25, 2007 IMF press release disclosed the activities of a joint IMF/CBH initiative dedicated to "the adoption of international best practices, with the objective of improving the quality of monetary and financial statistics and making them comparable with those from other countries in the region." The press release added that this initiative would be followed by a regional report that would include recommendations for the CBH and other Central American central banks.

The Principles

Comprehensive economic and financial data, disseminated on a timely basis.

ID

According to the IMF's 2005 ROSC, Honduras was at that time a participant in the GDDS, but expected to transition to the more stringent SDDS by end-2007. However, as of May 2008, the IMF's SDDS website discloses that Honduras has not yet succeeded in this transition. The ROSC noted that Honduran statistical data generally met or exceeded GDDS periodicity and timeliness recommendations, but displayed serious coverage gaps.

Ready and equal access to official statistics.

ID

The IMF's 2005 ROSC noted that advance release calendars are not made publicly available, and that information regarding pre-release access to government officials or multinational institutions was not announced to the public. Although the authorities in Honduras made their intent to subscribe to the SDDS clear, as reflected in the 2005 ROSC, as of May 2008 this transition had not taken place.

Official statistics must have the confidence of their users. Transparency of its practices and procedures is a key factor.

ID

According to the IMF's 2005 ROSC, Honduras was at that time a participant in the GDDS, but expected to transition to the more stringent SDDS by end-2007. However, as of May 2008, the IMF's SDDS website discloses that Honduras has not yet succeeded in this transition. The legal framework governing statistical activity in Honduras rests upon the Law of the National Institute of Statistics, effective as of 2000. The 2005 IMF ROSC identified certain problems with relation to this principle. Specifically, the ROSC found that "there are gaps in the provision of the terms and conditions under which official statistics are collected, compiled, and disseminated. While some of this information is in the public domain, it is often dispersed and not easily accessible" (p. 6). According to the ROSC, the dissemination of certain monetary and fiscal data is only weakly addressed by law or statute, although the report does note that the 2000 Law of the National Institute of Statistics goes some way to address this shortcoming. Finally, the ROSC noted that "pre-release access to GDP and [balance-of-payment] estimates by selected government officials and multilateral organizations is not publicized, although such access follows approval at the technical level" (p.6).

A set of standards that deals with the coverage, periodicity and timeliness of data must also address the quality of statistics.

ID

According to the IMF's 2005 ROSC, Honduras was at that time a participant in the GDDS, but expected to transition to the more stringent SDDS by end-2007. However, as of May 2008, the IMF's SDDS website discloses that Honduras has not yet succeeded in this transition. The 2005 ROSC notes that Honduras does not provide adequately broad documentation on methodology, data sources, and component detail to permit intra and inter-sectoral reconciliation. According to the ROSC, Honduras only disseminates such information for the CPI, and makes national accounts documentation available only on request. According to the ROSC, "generally, agencies do not disseminate component detail and additional data series that would permit crosschecks and checks of reasonableness. As a result, the public is generally unaware of differences in data coverage, sectorization, classification, and accounting procedures that may hamper data reconciliation" (p.6).