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Date:         Tue, 5 Jan 1993 16:14:12 CST
From:         jtstratford%ucdavis.BITNET@PSUVM.PSU.EDU
Subject:      UN Statistical Yearbook

----------------------------Original message----------------------------
Jean Stratford and I have been invited to attend the Expert Group Meeting
on Review of the United Nations Statistical Yearbook and Monthly Bulletin of
Statistics to be held in New York 1-5 February 1993.  The UN has asked us to
circulate the draft provisional agenda for comments.  Please send your
comments by January 20, 1993 to:

        Jean Stratford
        jsstratford@ucdavis.edu

           or

        Jean Stratford
        Institute of Governmental Affairs
        University of California
        Davis, California 95616

Sincerely,
Juri Stratford
University of California, Davis

***************************************************************************

      Expert Group Meeting on Review of the United Nations
     Statistical Yearbook and Monthly Bulletin of Statistics
                    Draft provisional agenda
Introduction
     Overview of the history and present status of the publications
     Related international publications
     Uses and users--results of user survey

Organization and content, including technical notes
     Economic activity; social and demographic; environment

Methods of compilation and dissemination and introduction of new
      technologies
     SYB and MBS as multi-purpose databases
     Compilation networks
     New and old dissemination media
     Complementary additional publications
     Adoption of the report of the meeting

       Note on the general organization of subject matter
  in the 37th issue of the United Nations Statistical Yearbook

                    (draft, 30 December 1992)

     The subject matter content and organization of the United
Nations Statistical Yearbook were basically set up in the first
(1946) issue and even then drew extensively on the previous
statistical yearbook of the League of Nations. They were primarily
organized around the following main topics, which reflected the
main public concerns of the mainly European industrialized
countries at that time: population, education, labour force and
cost of living; output of primary commodities in agriculture,
mining and quarrying and manufacturing; transport and
communications; international trade; international finance and
balance of payments. Over the decades many new topics and
sub-topics have come to the fore and some of these have been added
to the Yearbook, but with no attempt at maintaining a logical
structure. Many more have been dealt with through relatively minor
modifications to existing tables--again largely through small
accretions and adjustments--while many remain largely untouched.
It is therefore hardly likely that the Yearbook would reflect
anything like the structure of global concerns in the 1990s, while
at the same time the original coherence has slowly disappeared
through thousands of small, incremental, unplanned changes.

     The strategy that was developed for the general reorganization
of the Yearbook, undertaken beginning with the 37th issue was
divided into two parts: first to organize everything into three
broad categories, population and social, economic activity, and
international economic relations; and second, within these
categories to use broad systematic statistical frameworks developed
by the United Nations as guides to detailed organization and
coverage. The frameworks which best seemed to suit this purpose in
the social and economic spheres are the framework for integration
of social, demographic and related economic statistics (FSDS) and
the International Standard Classification of All Economic
Activities (ISIC). The United Nations framework for environment
statistics (FES) provides additional detailed guideance in this
emerging and very high priority field. The main outlines of these
basic frameworks are attached for reference in analysing the
present and potential scope and coverage of the Yearbook.

        FRAMEWORK FOR INTEGRATION OF SOCIAL, DEMOGRAPHIC
             AND RELATED ECONOMIC STATISTICS (FSDS)

    In United Nations, Statistical Division, Handbook on Social
Indicators, Studies in Methods, Series F, No. 49 (United Nations
publication, Sales No. E.89.XVIIII.6), social indicators topics
from table 2. For a summary of the framework and its application
in international data compilation, see United Nations, Statistical
Division, Compendium of Social Statistics and Indicators, 1986,
Series K, No. 9 (United Nations publication, Sales No.
E/F.91.XVII.6). For the framework for environment statistics, see
United Nations, Statistical Division, A Framework for the
Development of Environment Statistics, Series M, No. 78 (United
Nations publication, Sales No. E.84.XVII.12).

                         Outline of FSDS

A.  Population composition and change
    1.   Size and structure of the population by age group and sex
    2.   Population by national or ethnic group
    3.   Population growth by age group and sex and components of
         population growth - births, deaths and international
         migration

B.  Human settlements and housing, and geographical distribution
    of population
    1.   Geographical distribution of population and changes in
         population
    2.   Land use
    3.   Stock of housing and additions to stock
    4.   Tenure and expenditure on housing
    5.   Household water and sanitation
    6.   Household energy consumption
    7.   Personal transportation
    8.   Climate

C.  Household and families, marital status, fertility
    1.   Household size and composition
    2.   Marital and family status; marriage and divorce
    3.   Fertility

D.  Health and health services; impairment and disability;
    nutrition
    1.   Health status - mortality and morbidity
    2.   Impairment and disability
    3.   Health services and resources
    4.   Nutrition

E.  Learning and educational services
    1.   Educational attainment and illiteracy
    2.   Enrolment and retention
    3.   Adult education and training
    4.   Educational personnel and expenditures

F.  Economic activity and population not economically active
    1.   Labour force participation and population not economically
         active
    2.   Employment and unemployment
    3.   Employment compensation
    4.   Working conditions and training

G.  Socio-economic groups and social mobility
    1.   Socio-economic groups and changes over time
    2.   Intra- and inter-generational mobility

H.  Income, consumption and wealth
    1.   Level, growth and composition of household income
    2.   Level, growth and composition of consumption
    3.   Distribution of income and consumption

I.  Social security and welfare services
    1.   Scope of protection against loss of income
    2.   Use and magnitude of protection against loss of income

J.  Leisure and culture; communications
    1.   Use of leisure
    2.   Leisure and cultural activities, facilities and
         expenditures; communications
    3.   Communications facilities

K.  Public order and safety
    1.   Frequency and severtiy of selected offences and
         victimization
    2.   Characteristics and treatment of offenders
    3.   Institutions, personnel and performance
Comments: Gated by NETNEWS@AUVM.AMERICAN.EDU