ISTAT - Istituto Nazionale di Statistica
Euro-SDMX Metadata Structure Definition (ESMS_MSD 3.0 ESTAT)
Construction cost (or producer prices), new residential buildings - quarterly data
2013 - A0
1. Contact
1.1 Contact organisation

National Institute of Statistics – Istat

1.2 Contact organisation unit

Unit for Producer price indices on industry and import prices (SCI/E)

1.3 Contact name
1.4 Contact person function
1.5 Contact mail address

Via Torino, 6
I - 00184 Rome

1.6 Contact email address
1.7 Contact phone number
1.8 Contact fax number
2. Metadata update
2.1 Metadata last certified
04/12/2014
2.2 Metadata last posted
10/12/2014
2.3 Metadata last update
04/12/2014
3. Statistical presentation
3.1 Data description

Construction cost index for residential buildings.
The type of index measures the variation over time of the prices of the factors employed in the activity of construction. These factors are: materials costs, wages and salaries, plant and equipment hire, transport.

3.2 Classification system

Construction costs breakdown has four cost components: wages, materials, hire charges, transport charges. Groups are broken down into costs’ categories. The classification is a non-standard one.

3.3 Coverage - sector
Activities covered NACE Rev. 2 Division 41.
Size classes covered Not relevant.
3.4 Statistical concepts and definitions
List and definition of variables

The index is broken down into four groups of costs: i) labour costs: wages and salaries ii) materials costs; iii) hire charges; iv) transport charges. The groups contain several categories that are different in name and number.
1. Labour costs
The hourly labour costs are recorded. They are different for each category of workers. They are made up of contractual minimum initial payments, of all the additional allowances and of the social charges taken from the national contract for workers in the industry, complemented by any provincial contracts. Labour costs are recorded by Istat.
2. Materials costs
Material costs are actually factor prices and refer to average monthly prices for goods delivered "free to site", excluding VAT. They are recorded by the Survey on Producer prices on the domestic market.
3. Hire costs

Hire charges refer the machines which, in the overall hire charges, have a significant weight (excavators, concrete-mixers, bulldozers and cranes). They are considered on a “hot” basis, i.e. with the machine working therefore including fuel and/or electricity consumption and the hourly cost of the operator

4. Transport costs

The transport costs are considered on a “hot” basis, i.e. with the truck working therefore including fuel consumption and the hourly cost of the driver
Planned changes in information collected None.
Accounting conventions Calendar month.
3.5 Statistical unit
Reporting unit Industrial Enterprises (survey on output prices on the domestic market) and Regional Civil Engineering Offices. 
Observation unit(s) Labour, Hire and transport costs; Materials prices
3.6 Statistical population

200 production enterprises.

3.7 Reference area

All indices are calculated at national level.

3.8 Coverage - Time

Indices on residential building are available since 1967.

3.9 Base period

The reference year is 2010.

4. Unit of measure

Current cost are surveyed with their own unit of measure. Once collected, costs are transformed into indexes and then aggregated in categories and groups of costs. Product indexes are defined by using the simple geometric mean. Categories and groups indexes are compiled as Laspeyres indexes.Current cost are surveyed with their own unit of measure. Once collected, costs are transformed into indexes and then aggregated in categories and groups of costs. Product indexes are defined by using the simple geometric mean. Categories and groups indexes are compiled as Laspeyres indexes.

5. Reference Period

Month

6. Institutional Mandate
6.1 Institutional Mandate - legal acts and other agreements
Legal basis

National level: This is one of the compulsory surveys fixed every year by a Decree of the President of the Republic (D.P.R.).


European level: Regulation n. 1165 of 1998 and subsequent modifications and integrations

Obligation on units to provide data Surveys are mandatory. Penalties are foreseen for non-response.
Planned changes in legal basis, obligation to respond and frame used None
6.2 Institutional Mandate - data sharing

Eurostat and OECD.

7. Confidentiality
7.1 Confidentiality - policy
Dissemination of terms and conditions under which official statistics are produced, including confidentiality of individual responses Confidentiality provisions are explicitly stated in the ISTAT President’s letter attached to data collection questionnaire along with references to different acts on statistics. Links to relevant acts on statistics are presented on the website of Sistan - National Statistical System - (http://www.sistan.it/index.php?id=203).
7.2 Confidentiality - data treatment

Cost series are not published. Costs indexes are disseminated for categories and groups of costs.

8. Release policy
8.1 Release calendar

Every year, in December ISTAT publishes a release calendar providing the precise release dates for the coming year. The calendar is distributed to the press and is available free of charge to interested parties. The calendar is also disseminated on ISTAT's Internet website.

8.2 Release calendar access
8.3 Release policy - user access
Simultaneous release to all interested parties Data are released simultaneously to all interested parties by issuing the press release “Costo di costruzione di un fabbricato residenziale” The release (both in Italian and English version) is subsequently posted on the ISTAT Internet website (http://www.istat.it/en/).
Identification of internal government access to data before release No pre-release access.
Transmission to Eurostat and further use of the statistics Istat transmits on monthly basis construction costs indices to Eurostat.
9. Frequency of dissemination

Monthly

10. Accessibility and clarity
10.1 Dissemination format - News release

Data are disseminated through a monthly press release “Costo di costruzione di un fabbricato residenziale”. The release (both in Italian and English version) is posted on the ISTAT website: http://www.istat.it/en/archive/construction+costs

The indices are published according to the detailed construction breakdowns at the group and category levels but not at the product level.

10.2 Dissemination format - Publications

No other publications except press release.

10.3 Dissemination format - online database

The on-line database I.Stat http://dati.istat.it/?lang=en is open and free, statistics are organised by theme in a two-level hierarchical tree. Data are presented in aggregate form in multidimensional tables; acting on variables, reference periods and the arrangement of heads and sides users can create custom tables and graphs. The system can be searched by keyword, theme and region.
A wide range of standard metadata facilitates the retrieval and understanding of statistics by users.

More information available in the User Guide http://dati.istat.it/ModalHelp/Istat/WBOS%20User%20Guide%20%28EN%29.PDF

10.4 Dissemination format - microdata access

Not available

10.5 Dissemination format - other

Data are also trasmetted to Eurostat via Edamis

10.6 Documentation on methodology

Short description of the methodology and characteristics of the survey is contained in the technical explanatory note attached to the release updated regularly.
Generally, major changes in methodology are announced a short period in advance in the publication Note Informative (last updating of the base year and other recent modifications to the methodology have been announced on 21st March 2013 edition of Note Informative).
A description of methodology and sources used in preparing statistics is also contained in the Information System for Survey Documentation and Quality Control (Siqual); it is available on ISTAT's Internet website http://siqual.istat.it/SIQual/welcome.do. This system manages qualitative information related to each single phase of a survey's production process (http://siqual.istat.it/SIQual/visualizza.do?id=5000171).

10.7 Quality management - documentation

The Information System on Quality (SIQual) contains metainformation on the statistical production processes. 

11. Quality management
11.1 Quality assurance

CCI benefits data just quality checked coming from the labour cost and producer price surveys. This is the reason why “quality” assessments refer the data sources only in their own context.

11.2 Quality management - assessment

Timeliness, coverage and relevance are in line with the other STS indicators compiled by Istat.

12. Relevance
12.1 Relevance - User Needs

CCI are relevant both for Italian and Eurostat users.

12.2 Relevance - User Satisfaction

Not available

12.3 Completeness

Eurostat's requirements in term of time seires are fulfilled. Furthermore, CCI actually meets the Italian users needs of information.

13. Accuracy
13.1 Accuracy - overall

Statistical errors are small and only measured in terms of distance between provisional and final data. 

13.2 Sampling error

In the CCI survey , units are selected by a cut off threshold. 

13.3 Non-sampling error
Response rate 95%
Actions to speed up or increase the rate of response Follow-up by telephone contacts.
14. Timeliness and punctuality
14.1 Timeliness
Timeliness Publication is released 45 days after the end of the reference period.
Timetable of data collection The questionnaires are sent to the reporting units at the beginning of each year. Data collection starts one month after the reference month and lasts approximately 15 days. ISTAT closes the survey and stops the response process for a particular reference period after approximately 35 days. 
14.2 Punctuality

All releases delivered according to the timetable

15. Coherence and comparability
15.1 Comparability - geographical

The CCIs are compiled at national level using European definitions.

15.2 Comparability - over time

Istat calculates CCI since 1967. Time series breaks are the following:

[1967-1970; base 1966]; [1971-1976; base 1970]; [1977-1980; base 1976]; [1981-1990; base 1980]; [1991-1995; base 1990]; [1996-2001; base 1995]; [2002-2008; base 2000]; [2009-2012; base 2005];[2013- ; base 2010]

15.3 Coherence - cross domain
Dissemination of information that support statistical cross-checks and provide assurance of reasonableness Labour costs are derived by the Istat survey on Labour cost index; Material costs are derived by the Istat survey on PPI on domestic market; Hire and transport costs are collected mainly by price lists disseminated on internet.
Confrontation with other data sets None.
15.4 Coherence - internal

The total CCI is an average mean (Laspeyres type index) of groups of costs indexes: labour, materials, hires and transports. Internal coherence is straightforward.

16. Cost and Burden

14 persons work at ISTAT for unit SCI/E,  two of them in charge for CCI, with share in terms of time consuming could be estimate at 100 and 25.  A supervision is also provided by the head of unit. 

17. Data revision
17.1 Data revision - policy

On a monthly basis, provisional and final indexes are disseminated. Data concerning the current month are provisional while data referring to the previous months are final. No other revision is calculated.

17.2 Data revision - practice

Differences between provisional and final data are due to the data coverage: the final index is calculated considering a higher number of units. Differences are, therefore, little.

18. Statistical processing
18.1 Source data
Type of source Three different types of administrative sources are used, according to the factor considered. For Labour costs, data are recorded by ISTAT; for material costs the sources are the Industrial Enterprises (survey on output prices on the domestic market), Civil Engineering Offices; for hire and transport charge, the sources are the Regional Civil Engineering Offices. 
Frame on which the source is based None.
Sample or census Judgmental non-random sample.
Criteria for stratification Not applicable.
Threshold values and percentages Not available.
Frequency of updating the sample The sample is updated every year.
18.2 Frequency of data collection

Construction costs indices for residential buildings are compiled monthly.

18.3 Data collection
Questionnaires used in the survey None
Planned changes in national questionnaires None.
Data collection media Web questionnaire for the Industrial Enterprises and postal questionnaire for the Regional Civil Engineering Offices. 
Planned changes in data collection methodology None. Generally, major changes in methodology, sources and statistical techniques are announced in ad hoc publications.
Advance notification of methodological changes is also provided through seminars and papers disseminated throughout the scientific community. 
18.4 Data validation

Before computing the index, data are validated by observing both levels and costs rates of change. 

18.5 Data compilation
Estimates for non-response None.
Estimates for grossing-up to population levels None.
Type of index Factor prices for a residential building:
The elementary national indices of each cost item are obtained by relating the cost observed during the month in question to the average monthly cost recorded in the base year 2010. The national indices of categories and groups are obtained by aggregating the respective elementary indices using the Laspeyres formula. The general national index is obtained from the national group indices. 
Method of weighting and chaining Factor prices for a residential building:
The aggregate index of several cost items is given by the weighted arithmetical mean of the elementary indices of each cost specified by the design of the building, whose weight is represented by its incidence in the total cost of the work done in the base period. 
Planned changes in production methods None.
18.6 Adjustment
WDA, SA and other calculations None.
19. Comment

None.