OECD Main Economic Indicators (MEI) - International Statistical Guidelines and Recommendations for Short-Term Indicators

Over the last two or three decades an extensive range of statistical standards for most of the short-term economic indicators published in MEI have been prepared by international organisations (United Nations Statistical Division (UNSD), International Monetary Fund (IMF), International Labour Organisation (ILO) and Eurostat) working with national statistical institutes and other agencies responsible for their compilation and dissemination. The main objective of such standards is the development of recommended practices and guidelines for the collection, compilation and presentation of the indicators. The adoption of such recommended practices, etc., by national agencies also contributes towards making the indicators more comparable across countries. The content of the guidelines varies, however, they normally include a number of dimensions such as definitions of key terms, classifications and recommendations on best practice for the collection, compilation and presentation of statistics.

Within the OECD the two main bodies involved with the development of  guidelines and recommendations for short-term economic indicators are the Short-term Economic Statistics Working Party (STESWP) and the joint OECD – European Commission Working Group on Business Tendency and Consumer Opinion Surveys.

A comprehensive list of current international guidelines and recommendations is maintained by UNSD on their website, Methodological Publications in Statistics. The list includes international guidelines relevant for almost all of the short-term indicators published in MEI.