DDI_WB_ARM_2007_PrcS_v01_M World Bank, Development Economics Data Group <_value> NADA Version 01: (August 2011) Sample Survey on Price Statistics (Producer Price Index and Agriculture Price Index) 2007 PrcS 2007 ARM_2007_PrcS_v01_M National Statistical Service NADA World Bank Grant Number TF054516 National Statistical Service Price Survey [hh/prc] Transition to free economic structure and, as a consequence, processes of privatization of large agricultural and industrial organizations and birth of numerous new economic entities led to significant changes in quantitative and qualitative characteristics of industrial organizations and peasant farms in RA. During the last decade and especially the last 4-5 years, the structural changes, in their turn, caused also certain complications in the mentioned fields in terms of ensuring collection, comprehensiveness and reliability of statistical data on prices and pricing. In particular, in case of radical structural changes, international recommendations require the weights upon which price indexes are based to be periodically updated. In order to have a real picture and dynamics of the present situation on creation of indicators for new base year, i.e. collection of information on set of goods-representatives, their weights, average annual prices, prices and price changes, it would be necessary to periodically conduct sample surveys for further improvement of the methodology for price index calculation. The objectives of the survey were: • to improve the sample, develop a new sample, • to revise the base year and weights, • to receive additional information on prices of sales of industrial, agricultural product and purchase (acquisition of production means) in RA, • to improve methodology for price observation and calculation of price indexes (survey technology, price and other necessary data collection, processing, analyzing), • to revise the base year for producer price indexes, components structure, shares, calculation mechanism, etc., • to derive price indexes that would be in line with the international definitions, standards and classifications, • to complement the NSS RA price indexes database and create preconditions for its regular updating, • to update the information on economic units covered by price indexes calculation, • to ensure use of international standards and classifications in statistics, • to form preconditions for extension of sample observation mechanisms in the state statistics. Besides the above mentioned, the need of the given survey was also stipulated by the following reasons: - a great mobility of micro-sized, small and medium-sized organizations mainly caused by increased speed of their births, activity and produced commodity changes or deaths that decreases the opportunity to create long-term fixed-base time series of prices and price indexes, - According to the CPA classification coding and recoding activities related to the introduction of Armenian classification of economic activities - NACE (based on the European Communities’ NACE classification). Armenia National Sample survey data [ssd] SAMPLE DESIGN Agriculture The sample of the survey was desighned in the conditions of lack of farm register. The number of peasant farms was calculated and derived by database analysis. The number of villages (quotas) selected from each marz was determined taking into account the percent of rural population of marzes. The villages from marz were selected randomly. The peasant farms covered by the survey were selected based on number of privatized plots. The survey was carried out in 200 rural communities selected from 10 marzes, in 5-20 households from each community. Pilot survey was conducted with 1 901 farms in the sample. Industry The sample frame for the survey was designed as follows: 1. The industrial organizations with share 5 and more percent have been selected by reduction method from fifth level (each subsection) of NACE for whole RA industry. 476 out of 2231 industrial organizations covered by statistical observation were selected for pilot survey. 2. 70 organizations suggested by Industry statistics division of NSS RA and 70 organizations included in state observations on prices conducted previously by the NSS RA (in all 140 organizations), which are considered important and representative for price observation and excluded from the above-mentioned sample, were separated from the general population. These organizations have also been included in sample population of the pilot survey. As it became obvious from further work, the sample covered both the large and medium-sized and the small and micro-sized organizations, which ensured the representativeness of separate branches of industry and organizations by size. As a result, given by the objective of the survey, as well as available financial constraints, the sample population of the pilot survey comprised 616 industrial organizations, the volumes of produced production of whichaccording to the data for January-October of 2006 comprised more than 86% of total volume of RA industrial production. 165 (92.7%) out of 178 classes of NACE were covered by the sample. Face-to-face [f2f] The whole process of the necessary price and quantitative (value) data collection from the peasant farms and industrial organizations was done through the inquires by the interviewers. Before that, the interviewers had been given training to be prepared for the conducting of the survey. They were given all the questionnaires for observation, their completion instructions, as well as the list and place of the organizations. The interviewers were given instructions and clarifications on filling in the questionnaires with the indicators and use of CPA. Detailed clarifications were made on filling features in cases of not acting organizations, invalid address, etc. were given as well. With the purpose to ensure the possible high quality of the received information, the National Statistical Service of RA has also implemented a series of measures to clarify the necessity and objectives of the survey in the respect of questionnaires completion, to increase the interest of organizations covered by the survey and to render them practical support. It is necessary to mention that, when conducting the survey, to reduce the cases of nonresponse, incomplete responses and/or other cases, letter –reminders were also sent to the heads of organizations with clarifications on the need and objectives of the sample survey. The data collection was implemented by the marzes of the republic. The statistics agencies in each Marz received the completed questionnaires of the survey from the interviewers and submitted them to the National Statistical Service of RA after logical and arithmetical checking. While the NSS RA made the final checking, coding and data entry of the questionnaires coded (through the appropriate entry software program), calculations and output tables.