Better monitoring of the vulnerability of domestic economy to shocks is needed. It requires availability of data and proper understanding of (1) vulnerabilities which can be accessed through the sectoral balance sheets and flow of funds data; (2) screening of markets, where the boom-bust cycle might arise from, such as the real estate markets; (3) proper following of the financial and real sector linkages within an economy and (4) better information on public finances. This list of general recommendations in fact hides a necessity for very large and energy consuming efforts in the area of statistics. Although there are many angles which should be noticed, I would stress those which I think can give us “the large picture” of what should be done. The first lesson of the crisis was that timely, more granular and more inclusive data is needed. And let me note here that probably monetary statistics is one of the most explored examples, where the granularity and inclusiveness of data becomes the next inevitable developmental step. The aggregate monetary data should capture all sub-sectors of the financial sector, including insurance companies, pension funds, investment funds, other financial intermediaries and the shadow banking system. Also, for the purpose of tackling the issue of cross-border financial flows, consolidated data for banking or insurance groups seems inevitable. This requires a serious reshaping of the monetary statistics. I think that the Eurosystem offers a good example of concrete steps being undertaken to translate the need for granular and more comprehensive set of data, into a reality.

However, uninterrupted exchange of data among different users must be enabled, without jeopardizing the confidentiality principle. A good example in this respect is the EU Regulation on European Statistics as of March, 2009, where statistical confidentiality is treated in the following manner: “Transmission of confidential data between an ESS authority that collected the data and an ESCB member may take place provided that this transmission is necessary for the efficient development, production and dissemination of European statistics or for increasing the quality of European statistics, within the respective spheres of competence of the ESS and the ESCB, and that this necessity has been justified.” Of course this stresses even more the importance of procedures for safeguarding the data confidentiality. The need for higher scrutiny, higher quality, additional dimensions do not refer only to statistics which I have touched upon above. The global crisis stressed the need to “reshape” economic data as well, as it came under higher public scrutiny as well. It means they are watched and used actively by policy-makers, financial markets and general public. The example of the excessive deficit procedure mechanism and the European Commission Macro Imbalance procedure, used to detect and correct macroeconomic imbalances on the basis of a scoreboard of indicators “are adding pressure on statisticians to deliver high quality data” (Gonzales-Paramo, 2012). This highlights the need and the importance of having excellent cooperation between central banks and national statistical offices.