While they capture key elements of the economic story, they also conceal significant differences across household groups. The key aggregated data we publish each month, quarter, and year – such as GDP, government transfers, the Balance of Payments – are simply that: aggregates and averages. What should be done? Let me point to three priorities.įirst, I would echo the G20 in encouraging countries to go beyond gross domestic product in their national statistics. This impedes our ability to develop and monitor policies-from measures to incentivize cuts in emissions, to regulation that mitigates the risks of rapid financial innovation or helps boost financial inclusion. In other words, data sharpens how we understand the economic and financial implications of the world around us-and is particularly important for tackling new and emerging issues like climate change, financial innovation and changes to wealth and income distributions.īut there are still gaps in our data. Just think – data tells us while global inequality has been declining since the 1990s, more than half of the countries and close to 90 percent of advanced economies have seen an increase within country income inequality.ĭata tells us the number of registered mobile money agents has almost doubled worldwide between 20, mostly driven by increases in Africa and Asia.Īnd data tells us a single drought in Africa can lower a country’s medium-term economic growth potential by 1 percentage point. Policy advice must be based on hard data – and this is at the heart of decision-making for the IMF and our counterparts in central banks and finance ministries. And walking through most major cities will reveal stark inequalities.īut intuition and personal experience is not enough. We experience the digital finance revolution when we buy a coffee with an iPhone or send friends and family money through an app. Storms are more frequent and more violent.
Winters are milder, and summers are hotter. Why? Because intuitively, we know that climate change is happening because we see the effects all around us. If we think back to that era of lockdowns and social distancing, it might seem remarkable to be thinking about future data needs at such a time of crisis.īut to me, it underlines the criticality data for policy decisions, especially in times of crisis and uncertainty that we have experienced recently. The Data Gaps Initiative was launched in 2009 by the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors to close data gaps that were identified in the wake of the global financial crisis.įast forward to 2021 and – in the midst of the pandemic – the G20 initiated a new phase, covering climate change, household distributional information, data access, fintech and financial inclusion. Let me start today by taking a step back to think about why data matters in our current context. Welcome to the IMF, and welcome to the G20 Data Gaps Initiative Global Conference. Ladies, gentlemen, and distinguished guests
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