The ESSnet Big Data: Experimental Results

Peter Struijs; Anke Consten; Piet Daas; Marc Debusschere; Maiki Ilves; Boro Nikic; Anna Nowicka; David Salgado; Monica Scannapieco; Nigel Swier

Open Conference Systems, STATISTICS AND DATA SCIENCE: NEW CHALLENGES, NEW GENERATIONS

Peter Struijs, Anke Consten, Piet Daas, Marc Debusschere, Maiki Ilves, Boro Nikic, Anna Nowicka, David Salgado, Monica Scannapieco, Nigel Swier

Last modified: 2017-05-20

Abstract

In the ESSnet Big Data, 22 partners from 20 countries of the European Statistical System, the ESS, collaborate in exploring the possibilities of using big data as a source for official statistics. The research focuses on seven areas: (1) web scraping for statistics on job vacancies, (2) web scraping for obtaining enterprise characteristics, (3) use of smart meter data, (4) use of AIS data (maritime data), (5) use of mobile phone data, (6) use of big data for early estimates, and (7) combining data sources for statistics on the domains of population, tourism and border crossing, and agriculture. The paper presents the main results of the ESSnet after its first year, highlighting the opportunities and challenges of using big data for official statistics.