the value of surveys and make them fit for the 21st century, although it may also put a question mark over the survival of surveys as self - contained sets of information. as a data producer, the bank of italy is trying to exploit some of the new opportunities. the sampling design of the last wave of the shiw has changed thanks to newly available administrative information on households ’ income and indebtedness. this change has materially improved our ability to observe segments of the population that, though small, account for a high share of the target variables, such as wealth or debt. this helps to reconcile survey - based data with aggregate variables and to compute more accurate distributional statistics. our income, consumption and wealth joint project with the national institute of statistics ( istat ) aims at creating a synthetic database for three different surveys, 3 using statistical matching techniques that rely on a common set of administrative records. together with the ecb, we have also started a distributional wealth accounts project that is meant to bridge the gap between two survey waves by linking macro and micro data. many similar experiments are taking place across the world, and this meeting is a good opportunity to exchange experiences, including beyond or between formal sessions. we look forward to the new and valuable insights that this conference will surely provide. let me reiterate my welcome to all participants, including those following remotely. i wish you a fruitful two days of discussions. ( 1 ) the survey on income and living conditions ( eu - silc ) for income ; ( 2 ) the household budget survey ( hbs ) for consumption ; and ( 3 ) the survey on household income and wealth for wealth.

international investment position, australia : supplementary statistics, 2012 ”, abs cat no 5352. 0, tables 2 and 5. abs ( 2013b ), “ international trade in goods and services, australia, aug 2013 ”, abs cat no abs 5368. 0, tables 14a and 14b. abs ( 2013c ), “ overseas arrivals and departures, australia, aug 2013 ”, abs cat no 3401. 0, tables 5 and 9. acemoglu d, s johnson and ja robinson ( 2001 ), “ the colonial origins of comparative development : an empirical investigation ”, the american economic review, 91 ( 5 ), pp 1369 – 1401. bis central bankers ’ speeches acemoglu d, s johnson and ja robinson ( 2005 ), “ institutions as a fundamental cause of long - run growth ”, in p aghion and sn durlauf ( eds ), handbook of economic growth, vol 1a, chapter 6, elsevier bv. blainey g ( 1983 ), the tyranny of distance : how distance shaped australia ’ s history, macmillan, melbourne. dyer c ( 2009 ), the french explorers and sydney, university of queensland press, brisbane. grier rm ( 1997 ), “ colonial legacies and economic growth ”, public choice, vol 98, pp 317 – 335. maddison a ( 2003 ), the world economy : historical statistics, development centre studies, oecd publishing. mitchell br and deane p ( 1962 ), abstract of british historical statistics, cambridge university press, london. mitchell br and jones hg ( 1971 ), second abstract of british historical statistics, cambridge university press, london. ons ( office for national statistics ) ( 2013 ), “ uk trade, june 2013 ”, statistical bulletin, august, pp 1 – 51. rba ( reserve bank of australia ) ( 1997 ), “ australian economic statistics 1949 – 50 to 1996 – 97 ”, reserve bank of australia occasional paper no 8. ukhov a and wn goetzmann ( 2005 ), “ british investment overseas 1870 – 1913 : a modern portfolio theory approach ”, nber working paper no 11266. vamplew w ( 1987 ), australians : historical statistics, fairfax, sync & weldon associates, sydney. bis central bankers ’ speeches