The National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies – INSEE – was created by the Finance Act of 27 April 1946 (arts. 32 and 33). The new institution then resumed an activity of official statistics which has been carried out without interruption since 1833.
INSEE collects, produces, analyses and disseminates information on the French economy and society. This information is of interest to the public authorities, administrations, social partners, businesses, researchers, the media, teachers and individuals. It enables them to enrich their knowledge, carry out studies, make forecasts and take decisions.
INSEE is a Directorate General of the Ministry of Economy and Finance, whose employees are national civil servants. INSEE is bound by the rules of public accounting and its funding is included in the general budget of the State. INSEE operates as a completely independent professional entity. Article 1 of the French Statistical Act stipulates that “the design, production and dissemination of official statistics shall be carried out in complete professional independence”. The Official Statistics Authority, created by the Economic Modernisation Act of 4 August 2008, ensures that the principle of independence is upheld.
The official statistical system is made up of INSEE and the Ministerial Statistical Departments (SSM) that carry out statistical operations in their area of expertise. In the context of coordination provided by the Institute, INSEE and SSM decide on methods, standards and procedures for the establishment of statistics and their publication.
INSEE works daily with the statistical office of the European Union and its counterparts in the European Union. It thus contributes to building a statistical community within the Union. INSEE also takes part in the statistical work of the UN (United Nations Organisation), the IMF (International Monetary Fund), the OECD (Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development) and the World Bank. It is a member of the UN Statistical Commission, the UN Economic Commission for Europe and the OECD Statistics Committee.
INSEE’s main output in short-term service statistics connected Voorburg Group are the following:
– turnover index
– index of service production
– sales volume index in trade
– service producer price index
Below links to INSEE website’s pages about these indices.
Turnover indices calculation answer to a national and a European imperative. They are used to measure the monthly changes in sales of companies in the sectors concerned. They are a primary information to monitor the business cycle in France. Turnover indices fall under the European regulation on short-terms statistics – the Council Regulation ‘’STS’’ No 1165/98 of 19 May 1998, modified by subsequent amendments.
Due to the increasing weight of services in France but also in all European countries, INSEE has been developing services production indices since 2017. The services production indices are used to measure the monthly change in the services production of the companies in the sectors concerned. They are a primary information to monitor the business cycle in France. Production indices in services have to be produced in the Framework Regulation Integrating Business Statistics (FRIBS).
INSEE has been developing a whole sales volume index in trade since 2017. The sales volume indices are used to measure the monthly change in the sales volume of wholesale trade and retail trade. They are a primary information to monitor the business cycle in France. Sales volume indices in trade have to be produced in the Framework Regulation Integrating Business Statistics (FRIBS).
Services producer price indices calculation answer to a national and a European imperative. They are used to measure the monthly changes in prices of companies in the sectors concerned.They are a primary information to monitor the business cycle in France. Services producer price indices fall under the European regulation on short-terms statistics – the Council Regulation ‘’STS’’ No 1165/98 of 19 May 1998, modified by subsequent amendments.
Thanks to these indices :
– Economists can evaluate and analyze economic trends. Many French, European and international public and private organizations use them as economic indicators and as leading indicators of inflation (European Central Bank (ECB), International Monetary Fund (IMF), Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), etc.). These indices provide a monthly price monitoring, on different markets at all stages of the production process. The aggregation of price indices in the Member States enables to establish the services producer price indices (for services sold to businesses, or to all the markets) in the whole European Union;
– National accountants can deflate the production that comes from corporate structural statistics and thus to carry out the sharing between the development of the activity in volume and the development of prices (“price-volume” sharing). In fine, they can thus calculate the evolution of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in volume and price;
– Enterprises can index contracts (using “market price”).
Results of business surveys conducted by INSEE are of interest to various types of users. Professional bodies use them to keep abreast of their sectors and design their strategies.
Businesses use them to situate themselves against their competitors or to improve their understanding of sectors upstream or downstream of their own activities.
The public sector relies on these results to make decisions. For economists, the surveys address multiple needs for cross-cutting or sector-specific analysis.
They are furthermore indispensable for the creation of national accounts, which are also divided into sectoral accounts reports.