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IMF has a new working paper evaluating their initiative to urge countries to standardize macroeconomic data and enhance greater transparency.

“Since the IMF launched the data standards initiatives a decade ago, 145 of its 184 member countries have participated. This 80 percent participation rate reaffirms the importance countries place on data transparency in the globalized economy, which the initiatives promote. The wide participation can be attributed to the consultative process that has allowed for the development of a coherent program that takes account of countries’ capabilities, delineates clear responsibilities between the IMF and participating countries, and establishes effective monitoring procedures to ensure the credibility of the standards for policymakers, capital markets, and the general public. The approach has also provided checks and balances and fostered accountability. The initiatives may provide insights for the promotion of similar international standards”

Adhering to the standards have had financial benefits as well.

“Empirical studies suggest that adhering to the SDDS or the GDDS, to varying extents, helps improve a country’s access to international capital markets. For instance, an STA econometric study on the borrowing costs of emerging market and developing countries over the past decade and a half found strong and consistent evidence of discounts for sovereign bond issuers participating in the GDDS, as well as for countries subscribing to the SDDS. The discounts amounted to about 8 percent for GDDS participants and 20 percent for SDDS subscribers, or the equivalent of about 20 and 50 basis points, respectively.”

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