CCBS Handbooks

This Handbook provides an overview of the wide range of monetary and financial statistics collected by most central banks, as well as the main uses of these data. In an increasingly globalised financial system, several statistics collected by central banks are only useful if similar statistics are available for other economies. So international harmonisation of statistical frameworks and co-operation between data compilers is essential. Such harmonisation takes place at the European level, but also globally.

The Handbook also discusses internationally agreed indicators that can be used to assess the quality of economic statistics collected by central banks. Given that the collection of data imposes a burden on those organisations required to provide data, it is valuable for compilers of statistics to apply cost benefit analysis to their data collections. For central banks, this involves establishing whether the uses (or benefits) of the data collected justify the costs to both reporting institutions and the central banks of collating these data.

The Handbook contains several examples of data collection processes at the Bank of England.