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Over 200 Scholars Demand Release of ‘Junked’ NSO Report on Consumer Spending

Data from the ‘leaked’ Consumer Expenditure Survey for 2017-18, published by the Business Standard, showed spending at a four-decade low amid growing economic distress.
NSO Report on Consumer Spending

Representational image.

New Delhi: Over 200 scholars and academics from India and abroad have released a statement demanding that the government of India should release the report and data of all surveys done by the National Sample Survey Organisation, including the suppressed 75th round of the Consumer Expenditure Survey for 2017-18.

Data from the leaked Consumer Expenditure Survey, published by the Business Standard, showed spending at a four-decade low amid growing economic distress.

The government was quick to junk the report, citing “poor quality,” and announced that it would not release the report.

The scholars have, therefore, demanded that the said report be released “without delay and irrespective of what the results are. The government may wish to defend itself against interpretations of the statistics that it disagrees with. But this is best done through technical papers and seminars.”

They said to prevent release of data that are adverse, and diverge from its own understanding, was neither “transparent nor technically sound” and undermining it was against national interest.

Read the full statement below:

We the undersigned demand that the Government of India releases the report and data of all NSSO Surveys that have been completed and approved by the NSSO’s internal systems, including the results of the 75th round Survey of Consumer Expenditure, 2017-18.

A media leak published in Business Standard has revealed that the 2017-18 Consumer Expenditure Survey shows a sharp decline in average consumption. It has been suggested that the survey results are not being released because they support other evidence that the economy is experiencing a downturn. The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation has now announced that the results of the survey will not be released at all, because they show a higher divergence with the "administrative data" than for earlier surveys.

It should be noted that consumption surveys are known to give results that diverge from macroeconomic estimates of the National Accounts. Also, National Accounts estimates are based not only on administrative data but on a combination of sources including NSSO and other surveys. Several committees have looked into these discrepancies. While further work can be done to identify sources of and reduce these discrepancies, the common understanding has been that the flaws lie as much in the methods deployed for arriving at macroeconomic estimates as they do in surveys.

Consumption surveys are crucial for monitoring trends in poverty and inequality, and are also of critical value for national income accounting, and for updating macro-economic data such as price indices. They can provide an important check on administrative and macroeconomic data, which is important both for policy makers and the general public. The fact that data on supply of goods and household consumption are diverging points to the need for questioning supply side data (which are being widely questioned within and outside India) as much as it points to the continuing need for improving survey methods.

It is of fundamental importance for the nation that statistical institutions are kept independent of political interference, and are allowed to release all data independently. The record of the present government on this score has been very poor. Until recently, India has good cause to be proud of its statistical system, and the sample surveys conducted by the NSSO have served as a shining example and a model to the rest of the world. While there has been much discussion and debate about the methodology of the surveys, these have been scientific and technical in nature, devoted to trying to improve the system to enable better measures of crucial indicators.

However, this government has chosen to attack the credibility of this pre-eminent statistical institution simply because the results of the surveys do not accord with its own narrative about the economy, without providing any adequate reasons, and by misrepresenting essential features of the surveys. It has repeatedly shown its disinclination to make public any information that may show its own performance in a poor light. Last year, before the parliamentary elections, the results of the Periodic Labour Force Survey were not allowed to be released until the Parliamentary Elections were over, despite the resignation of two members of the National Statistical Commission, and a leak in the media. Subsequently, results of other surveys including the 75th round (Consumer Expenditure), 76th round (Drinking water, Sanitation, Hygiene, and Housing Conditions) and more recent quarterly data of the PLFS surveys, have not been released.

This suppression of essential data is terrible for accountability and for ensuring that citizens have the benefit of official data collection that is paid for with their taxes. It is also counterproductive for the government, which may be kept in the dark about actual trends in the economy and therefore not be able to devise appropriate policies. Undermining the objectivity and credibility of an independent statistical system is fundamentally against the national interest.

In the interest of transparency and accountability, all data must be released without delay and irrespective of what the results are. The government may wish to defend itself against interpretations of the statistics that it disagrees with. But this is best done through technical papers and seminars. To prevent release of data that are adverse, and diverge from its own understanding, is neither transparent nor technically sound.

Indeed, in order to produce transparent and robust information on distribution, it is also important for the government to grant researchers access to (anonymous) tax microfiles.

We therefore demand that the government should immediately release the report and unit-level data of the 75th Consumer Expenditure Survey. The government should also commit to release all other survey data after the usual processes to check for possible errors have been concluded.

Signed

  1. A Vaidyanathan, Former Member, Planning Commission

  2. A K Shiva Kumar, Ashoka University

  3. A V Jose, Visiting Fellow, CDS, Thiruvananthapuram

  4. Abhijit Sen, former Member, Planning Commission

  5. Abhirup Sarkar, ISI Kolkata

  6. Achin Chakraborty, IDS, Kolkata

  7. Aditya Bhattacharjea, Delhi School of Economics

  8. Aijaz Ahmad, University of California, Irvine

  9. Ajit Zacharias, Levy Institute, Bard College, New York

  10. Alejo Julca, Independent researcher

  11. Alex M. Thomas, Azim Premji University

  12. Alicia Puyana, Flacso, Mexico City

  13. Alpa Shah, London School of Economics

  14. Aman Bardia, New School for Social Research, New York.

  15. Amit Basole, Azim Premji University

  16. Amit Bhaduri, Emeritus Professor, JNU

  17. Amitabha Bhattacharya

  18. Amiti Sen, Journalist

  19. Amiya Bagchi, Emeritus Professor, Institute of Development Studies Kolkata

  20. Anamitra Roychowdhury, JNU

  21. Andres Lazzarini, Goldsmiths University, London

  22. Angus Deaton, Princeton University

  23. Anita Dixit, Pratichi Institute

  24. Anjana Thampi, IWWAGE, New Delhi

  25. Anup Sinha Retired Professor of Economics IIM Calcutta

  26. Anwar Shaikh, New School for Social Research

  27. Arindam Banerjee, AUD, Delhi

  28. Arjun Jayadev, Azim Premji University

  29. Arthur MacEwan, University of Massachusetts Boston

  30. Ashok Kotwal, The University of British Columbia, Vancouver

  31. Ashwini Deshpande, Ashoka University

  32. Astha Ahuja, University of Delhi

  33. Atul Sood, JNU

  34. Atul Sarma, Visiting Professor, ISID, New Delhi

  35. Atulan Guha, IIM, Kashipur

  36. Ayushya Kaul, Jamia Millia Islamia

  37. Avinash Kumar, JNU

  38. Awanish Kumar, St. Xavier's College, Mumbai

  39. B Srujana, Tricontinental Institute for Social Research

  40. Barbara Harriss-White, Emeritus Professor, Oxford University, and Emeritus Fellow of Wolfson College, Oxford

  41. Ben Fine, SOAS

  42. Bhanoji Rao, Governing Board Member, GITAM and IFHE Universities

  43. Bharat Ramaswami, ISI Delhi

  44. Bibhas Saha, Durham University

  45. Bindu Oberoi, University of Delhi

  46. Biswajit Dhar, JNU

  47. Byju, V, Thiruvananthapuram

  48. C P Chandrasekhar, Retired Professor, JNU

  49. C Saratchand, University of Delhi

  50. Carlo Cafiero, Senior Statistician, FAO

  51. Chalapati Rao KS, ISID, Delhi

  52. Chirashree Das Gupta, JNU

  53. Chris Baker, Editor, Siam Society

  54. Chrostophe Jeffrelot, Sciences Po and King’s College London

  55. D Narasimha Reddy, University of Hyderabad

  56. D Narayana, Former Director, Gulati Institute of Finance and Taxation

  57. Daniela Gabor, University of West England, Bristol

  58. David Kotz, Professor Emeritus, University of Massachusetts, Amherst

  59. Debabrata Pal, JNU

  60. Debraj Ray, New York University

  61. Deepak K Mishra, JNU

  62. Dev Nathan, Institute for Human Development

  63. Devaki Jain, ISST, New Delhi

  64. Devika Dutt, University of Massachusetts, Amherst

  65. Dilip Mookherjee, Boston University

  66. Dinesh Abrol, ISID, Delhi

  67. Dipa Sinha, AUD

  68. Dipankor Coondoo, Retired Professor, ISI

  69. Dipankar Dey, Dept of Business Management, Calcutta University

  70. E. Ahmet Tonak, University of Massachusetts, Amherst

  71. E Bijoykumar Singh, Manipur University

  72. Emanuele Citera, The New School For Social Research

  73. Farzana Afridi, ISI, Delhi

  74. Francesco Saraceno, Sciences Po

  75. Gaurav Khanna, University of California, San Diego

  76. Giovanni Andrea Cornia, University of Florence

  77. Hanjabam Isworchandra Sharma, Manipur University

  78. Haroon Akram-Lodhi, Trent University, Canada

  79. Hema Swaminathan, IIM Bangalore

  80. Himanshu, JNU

  81. Indra Nath Mukherji, JNU

  82. Indraneel Dasgupta, Indian Statistical Institute, Kolkata

  83. Indranil Chowdhury, University of Delhi

  84. Indranil Mukhopadhyay, OP Jindal University

  85. Ingrid Kvangraven, York University

  86. Iqbal Singh, Akal University, Bathinda

  87. Ishan Anand, Ambedkar University, Delhi

  88. Ishita Mukhopadhyay, University of Calcutta

  89. J. Mohan Rao, University of Massachusetts at Amherst

  90. Jan Breman, University of Amsterdam

  91. Jan Kregel, Levy Institute

  92. Jason Hickel, Goldsmith College, London

  93. Jayan Jose Thomas, Economist, New Delhi

  94. Jayati Ghosh, JNU

  95. Jens Lerche, SOAS

  96. Jesim Pais, SSER

  97. John Harriss, Professor Emeritus, Simon Fraser University, Vancouver

  98. Jose Antonio Ocampo, Columbia University

  99. Joydeep Baruah, OKD Institute of Social Change and Development, Guwahati

  100. Kalyani Menon-Sen, Feminist Learning Partnerships

  101. Kathleen McAfee, San Francisco State University

  102. K J Joseph, Gulati Institute of Finance and Taxation

  103. K N Harilal, Member, Kerala State Planning Board

  104. K Nagaraj, Retired Professor, MIDS

  105. K P Kannan, Retired Professor, CDS

  106. K V Ramaswamy, IGIDR

  107. Kumarjit Mandal, University of Calcutta

  108. Kunibert Raffer, retired Associate Professor, University of Vienna

  109. Lawrence King, University of Massachusetts, Amherst

  110. Lucas Chancel, Co-Director, World Inequality Lab

  111. M S Bhatta, Retired Professor, Jamia Millia Islamia

  112. M S Sriram, Indian Institute of Management Bangalore

  113. M Vijayabaskar, MIDS

  114. Maitreesh Ghatak, LSE

  115. Mahalaya Chatterjee, Calcutta University

  116. Malabika Majumdar, Retd. Professor, University of Delhi

  117. Mandira Sarma, JNU

  118. Martin Ravallion, Georgetown University

  119. Mary E John, CWDS

  120. Mira Shiva, Public Health Physician

  121. Mridul Eapen, Member, Kerala State Planning Board

  122. Mritiunjoy Mohanty, IIM, Kolkata

  123. Mustafa Özer, Anadolu University

  124. Mwangi wa Githinji – University of Massachusetts, Amherst

  125. Nalini Nayak, SEWA, Kerala

  126. Naveed Ahmad, Department of higher education Jammu and Kashmir (cluster University Srinagar)

  127. Narender Thakur, University of Delhi

  128. Nisha Biswas, Scientist

  129. Nishith Prakash, University of Connecticut

  130. Nitin Sethi, Independent journalist

  131. Oliver Braunschweig, The New School for Social Research

  132. Padmini Swaminathan, independent researcher, Chennai

  133. Parthapratim Pal, IIM Calcutta

  134. Pasuk Phongpaichit, Professor, Faculty of Economics, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok

  135. Prabhat Patnaik, Emeritus Professor, JNU

  136. Pranab Bardhan, University of California, Berkeley

  137. Pranab Kanti Basu, Retired Professor, Visva Bharati University

  138. Praveen Jha, JNU

  139. Priya Mukherjee, William & Mary, Virginia

  140. Pulin B Nayak, Retired Professor of Economics, Delhi School of Economics

  141. R Nagaraj, IGIDR

  142. R Ramakumar, TISS

  143. R V Ramana Murthy, University of Hyderabad

  144. Ragupathy, Goldsmiths University, London

  145. Rahul Roy, ISI, Delhi

  146. Rajah Rasiah, University of Malaya

  147. Rajesh Madan, Noida

  148. Rajeswari Sengupta, IGIDR

  149. Rajesh Bhattacharya, IIM, Kolkata

  150. Rajiv Jha, University of Delhi

  151. Rakesh Ranjan, University of Delhi

  152. Ramaa Vasudevan, Colorado State University

  153. Rammanohar Reddy, Editor, The India Forum, and Visiting Professor, Goa University

  154. Ranjan Ray, Monash University

  155. Ranjini Basu, Focus on the Global South

  156. Ratan Khasnabis, Adamas University, and Retired Professor, Calcutta University

  157. Ravindran Govindan, Laurie Baker Center for Habitat Studies, Trivandrum

  158. Ritu Dewan, Director (retd), Dept of Economics, University of Mumbai

  159. Rohit Azad, JNU

  160. Romar Correa, University of Mumbai

  161. Rosa Abraham, Azim Premji University

  162. Runa Sarkar, IIM Calcutta

  163. S Krithi, TISS, Hyderabad

  164. Sagari R Ramdas, Food Sovereignty Alliance

  165. Saikat Sinha Roy, Jadavpur University

  166. Samarjit Das, ISI, Kolkata

  167. Sanjay Reddy, The New School for Social Research

  168. Santosh Das, ISID, New Delhi

  169. Saradindu Bhaduri, JNU

  170. Sarmistha Pal, Surrey Business School

  171. Satish Deshpande, Delhi University

  172. Satyaki Roy, ISID, Delhi

  173. Saumyajit Bhattacharya, Delhi University

  174. Seema Kulkarni, SOPPECOM, Pune

  175. Servaas Storm, Delft University of Technology, Netherlands

  176. Shambhu Ghatak, Senior Associate Fellow, Inclusive Media for Change

  177. Shantanu De Roy, TERI University

  178. Shiney Chakraborty, ISST, New Delhi

  179. Shipra Nigam, Consultant Economist, New Delhi

  180. Shouvik Chakraborty, University of Massachusetts, Amherst

  181. Shyjan Davis, University of Calicut

  182. Siwan Anderson, Vancouver School of Economics, University of British Columbia, Vancouver

  183. Smita Gupta, Economist

  184. Smitha Francis, ISID, New Delhi

  185. Snehashish Bhattacharya, SAU

  186. Sona Mitra, IWWAGE, New Delhi

  187. Stefano Zambelli, Provincial University of Trento

  188. Suchetana Chattopadhyay, Jadavpur University.

  189. Subin Dennis, Tricontinental Institute for Social Research

  190. Sudhir Kumar Suthar, JNU

  191. Sudip Chaudhuri, IIM, Kolkata

  192. Sudipta Bhattacharyya, Visva Bharati

  193. Sujata Patel, NIS, Shimla

  194. Sukanta Bhattacharya, University of Calcutta

  195. Sushil Khanna, IIM, Kolkata

  196. Sripad Motiram, University of Massachusetts Boston

  197. Sunanda Sen, Retired Professor, JNU

  198. Surajit Das, JNU

  199. Surajit Mazumdar, JNU

  200. Suresh Aggarwal, Former Professor, Department of Business Economics, University of Delhi

  201. Suranjan Gupta, New Delhi

  202. T Sabri Öncü, Former Head of Research, CAFRAL

  203. Takahiro Sato, Kobe University

  204. Taposik Banerjee, Ambedkar University, Delhi

  205. Thomas Piketty, Paris School of Economics

  206. Upasak Das, University of Pennsylvania

  207. Utsa Patnaik, Emerita Professor, JNU

  208. Uttam Bhattacharya, Institute of Development Studies, Kolkata

  209. Vamsi Vakulabharanam, University of Massachusetts, Amherst

  210. Velupillai Kumaraswamy, former Professor, University of Trento and New School University

  211. Venkatesh B Athreya, Professor of Economics (Retired), Bharathidasan University

  212. Vikas Rawal, JNU

  213. Yogendra Yadav, Swaraj India, and former member, UGC

  214. Yoshifumi Usami, University of Tokyo

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