The collection of information for the periodic survey of the national economy

Abstract

Modern Government involves the continuous collection of economic data, this is true for the different types of economy ranging from the centrally planned economies to those where a much looser control is exercised by the indirect controls and incentives. A good central statistical office is often able to supply much of the numerical data required for the economic survey, and here the efficiency of the statistical office can often be measured by the timeliness and comprehensiveness of its published material. The use of statistical surveys for such sectors as manufacturing industry and construction becomes a much more practical form of collecting information and keeping abreast of development when the economic base has grown to the extent that a very large number of individual units is involved. Index numbers of industrial production based on a representative sample of establishments becomes an invaluable source of data on the growth of the existing industrial structure, but these must be supplemented by up-to-date knowledge of the larger new developments, which are occurring or are expected to occur.