Rebuilding of the National Statistical System of Argentina. Some lessons learned
What is it about?
From 2007 to 2015, the National Institute of Statistics and Censuses (INDEC) of Argentina underwent damaging political interventions, which undermined the institution and the quality of its products and services, leading to a widespread distrust of the official statistics of the country. In January 2016, a presidential Decree declared a state of administrative emergency in the National Statistical System (NSS) to reorganize the agency and the NSS. This paper presents the main actions taken to recover the Argentinian statistical system, and derives the lessons learned.
Why is it important?
The Argentine case likely represents one of the most relevant cases of deterioration and quick recovery of a National Statistical System. The paper shed light on this process, and document a case of success in terms of statistical capacity recovery as a window of opportunity to undertake institutional reform.