Theory and Application of Benchmarking (Course code 0436)

Purpose

To familiarize participants with benchmarking methods and software. Benchmarking deals with the problem of combining a series of high-frequency data (e.g., quarterly or monthly data) with a series of less frequent data (e.g., annual data) for a certain variable into a consistent time series. Benchmarking techniques can also be used to solve interpolation, linking and bridging problems associated with time series.

Benefits to Participants

Upon completion of the course, the participants will be able to understand some of the benchmarking techniques in use at Statistics Canada. They will acquire the technical knowledge to run PROC BENCHMARKING, a SAS procedure developed at Statistics Canada, and to analyze the results with its graphical interface under SAS Enterprise Guide. The course is practical, technical and theoretical.

Target Population

This course is intended for employees involved or interested in the production and analysis of benchmarked series or in the benchmarking process itself.

Course Outline

Introduction and issues related to benchmarking;

Benchmarking methods available in PROC BENCHMARKING: pro-rating; Denton; proportional Denton, a numerical version of the regression-based model and variants that compute directly the benchmarking adjustment factors;

Timeliness issues with implicit and/or explicit forecasts and annual growth rates;

Benchmarking stock variables and interpolation with PROC EXPAND;

Using benchmarking methods to solve bridging or linking problems.

Prerequisites

Familiarity with Windows, and the ability to work with software for statistical analysis on a personal computer. Some knowledge of SAS and SAS Enterprise Guide will be useful, but not mandatory.

Duration: 1 day