Abstract
Confronted with a request for comparative assessments about complex economic and social phenomena, official statisticians must reach a degree of accuracy that cannot be taken for granted. The initial choice of concepts and classifications plays a fundamental role. In principle statistical operations should be harmonized so as to serve well for comparisons, but this is not always feasible, in particular for international comparisons. Reconciliation of available data often meets with serious difficulties. Diffusion of useful and valid results may require some data analysis treatment or imply delicate decisions. These points are discussed and brought out in a number of examples.
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Malinvaud, E. (1985). Economic and Social Statistics for Comparative Assessments. In: Atkinson, A.C., Fienberg, S.E. (eds) A Celebration of Statistics. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4613-8560-8_19
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