Analysis of Statistical Units Delineated by OECD Member Countries

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Analysis of Statistical Units Delineated by OECD
Member Countries
18th International Roundtable on Business Survey
Frames Beijing, China October 17-22, 2004

• Bongho Choi Denis Ward

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Enterprises

• Group I (Legal Units Enterprises)
• Austria, Czech Republic, Finland (developing a
  top-down model),
• France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy,
  Luxembourg,
• Portugal, Slovak Republic.
• Group II (Delineation by Profiling)
• Bottom-up Approach Belgium, Spain, Sweden
• Top-down approach Denmark (but close to Group
  I), Netherlands, UK
• Unknown Canada, US, Australia, Japan, NZ,
  Ireland, Norway, Poland, Switzerland
• Group III (Under development) Mexico, Korea,
  Turkey

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Issues on Enterprises

• Data comparison problem between Legal Units
  Enterprises vs. Delineation by Profiling
• The former is generally greater than the latter.
  
• How to treat the franchise form of doing business
  ?
• Enterprise or Establishment?
• Un-incorporated enterprises are excluded in some
  countries (Japan and Korea)
• More harmonization is needed in Enterprises by
  Size Classes and Business Demography.
• Size categories (including the upper limit) are
  different.

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Enterprise Groups

• Countries that delineate this unit
• Canada (2,500 Corporate Families), Australia
  (8,000), NZ (n.a.), Denmark (n.a.),
• Finland (920), France (28,962), Ireland (200),
  Italy (19), Netherlands (90,000),
• Portugal (n.a.), Spain (21,654), Sweden (26,000),
  UK (100,000)
• Do you think that the numbers are comparable
  between countries?
• Countries where statistics are not available
  Mexico, US, Japan, Austria, Belgium, Czech
  Republic, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland,
  Luxembourg, Poland, Slovak Republic, Switzerland,
  Turkey.

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Issues on Enterprise Groups

• Terminology corporate families in Canada,
  conglomerates (large complex enterprises) in
  the US.
• Relationship between enterprise groups and
  complex enterprises is not clear.
• Number of enterprise groups is not comparable
  between countries the method of delineation and
  the concept are different.
• Is it necessary to split the enterprise groups
  into the categories like the splitting of
  enterprises?
• Guideline to compile statistics on multi-national
  enterprise groups?

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Local Unit (or Establishment)

• Most of OECD Member Countries are observed to
  delineate this unit 29 out of 30.

Issues on Local Unit (or Establishment)

• Relationship is not clear.
• Terminology and Concept is not yet fully
  harmonized.
• Non-European Countries (Establishment)
• European Countries (Local Unit)
• Austria (Local Unit Kind-of-activity
  Unit)
• Denmark (Local Unit Establishment)

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KAU and Local KAU

• About half of OECD Member Countries delineate
  this unit KAU.
• Methods of delineation
• KAU as an operational part of the enterprise.
• By profiling the enterprise.
• By aggregating local units.
• By aggregating local KAUs.
• Through a combination of various methods.
• In the case of Local KAU, only three countries
  are doing delineation Denmark, Finland, Sweden.

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Issues on KAU and Local KAU

• Not easy to understand the differences in
  methods.
• Concept is different between countries.
• Austria KAU Establishment.
• Finland KAUs secondary activities and/or
  branches, and
• local KAU Establishments.
• Germany and Netherlands KAUs Enterprise
• Denmark and Germany Local KAU Local
  Unit
• Terminology
• Australia Type of activity unit

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Legal Unit

• 24 countries contain legal units in their BR/BF.
•  
• Basic source for legal units VAT registers
  and other relevant administrative

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Concluding Remarks

• There are many cases in borderlines between
• Enterprises and Local units(Establishments)
• Enterprises groups and Complex enterprises
• KAUs and Enterprises
• Local KAUs and Local units(Establishments)
• Need for further studies on enterprises from the
  following perspective 
• Ownership (autonomous, partner, linked)
• Diversity (single, vertically integrated, linked,
  un-related)
• Size (micro, small, medium, large)
• Legal form (sole proprietorships, etc.)
• Need for further studies on application of
  statistical units to short-term and structural
  business statistics.

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Application of Statistical Units

• For short-term Statistics (EU Council Regulation)
• KAU for production, turnover, number of persons
  employed, etc.
• Enterprise for retail trade and repair sector.
• For Structural Business Statistics (EU Council
  Regulation)
• Enterprise for yearly business statistics.
• Local unit (or Local KAU) for regional
  statistics.
• KAU for turnover, number of persons employed in
  industrial sector.
• In reality, it is not easy to follow the
  guidelines.

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Status of Statistical Units delineated in
Business Registers/Frames by OECD Member Countries
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Number of statistical units by OECD member
countries, where data are available
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Enterprises by size groups of persons
employed/employees by OECD Member Countries