3rd Pacific Statistics Methods Board (PSMB) Meeting - May 2019

The third meeting of the Pacific Statistics Methods Board (PSMB) will occur from 23 to 24 May, 2019, at Statistics New Zealand's office in Auckland, New Zealand.

The meeting will cover the following topics:

1. Regional Household Income and Expenditure Survey (HIES) Sampling Guidelines
   The Pacific Community (SPC), Statistics New Zealand, the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the World Bank and the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific have collaborated in the preparation of guidelines towards sample design for household income and expenditure surveys in the Pacific region. The draft guidelines will be presented to the Board who will provide direction as to the way-forward for the guidelines. The regional sampling guidelines are a derivative product from the recent Regional HIES Sampling and Planning Workshop.
2. Terms of reference for the Sampling Sub-Committee
   The second meeting of PSMB endorsed the formation of the Sampling Sub-Committee (PSMB Summary Report and Recommendations Oct 2018). The next meeting of PSMB will review and finalise the terms of reference of the Sub-Committee, which is a necessary committee when considering the challenges of robust sample design in small island Pacific states.
3. Preliminary results of the Republic of the Marshall Islands Household Income and Expenditure Survey Experiment
   The field work for the RMI HIES Experiment (HIES in the Pacific region doc.) has been completed and the third meeting of the PSMB will bring together HIES data users to make recommendation to PSMB as to the optimal methodology to the collection of consumption data through Pacific HIES. Data users will also present on the efficacy of complementary survey modules, such as: economic activity, disability, food insecurity experience and fisheries. These modules were designed for inclusion in the HIES questionnaire to produce more comprehensive data and to avoid the need for stand-alone surveys. This marks an important milestone for HIES in the Pacific region which will improve the quality of data produced for use in policy and planning to address key regional issues, such as: poverty, over-and-undernourishment, food insecurity and economic development.