Big data: Building data strategies for central banks in light of the data revolution

Workshop 9 September 2015

The supply of data has increased substantially in recent years and the trend looks to continue as an increasing number of activities are automatically stored. Everything from our internet searches to transactions in the financial market is now stored at micro level in rapidly growing databases.

At the same time there are increasingly strong voices within the world of central banking advocating a more prominent role for data analysis. Among economists, data mining has historically been seen as a terrible crime, while it has been an absolute goldmine for others. Is it time to encourage a change in the perception of data among economists and what approach should central banks adopt when building data strategies in light of the data revolution?

Programme

Welcoming speech by Riksbank Deputy Governor Cecilia Skingsley

Session 1: Future data strategies for central banks

Chair: Jyry Hokkanen

Emerging Opportunities and Challenges with Central Bank Data. [Paper]
Michael J. Kraemer, Deputy Chief Data Officer, Board of Governors

Advanced Analytics at the Bank of England. [Paper]
Paul Robinson, Head of Advanced Analytics, Bank of England

Data as a core central banking asset – The strategy of the European Central Bank. [Paper]
Aurel Schubert, Director General, Directorate General Statistics, European Central Bank

Session 2: Methodological challenges for big data

Chair: Tor Jacobson

Learning from big data. [Paper]
Mattias Villani, Professor of Statistics, Linköping University

Big data, the future of statistics: Experience from Statistics Netherlands. [Paper]
Piet Daas, Methodologist & Research Coordinator Big Data, Statistics Netherlands

Trends and visions within big data analytics. [Paper]
Daniel Gillblad, Swedish Institute of Computer Science

Session 3: What can central banks learn from current users of big data?

Chair: Markus Tibblin

The Web Intelligence Machine. [Paper]
Staffan Truvé, Chief Scientist and co-founder, Recorded Future

Text analysis for big data. [Paper]
Magnus Sahlgren, Founder & Chief Scientist, Gavagai

Organising for data success. [Paper]
Lars Albertsson, Data Architect, Schibsted Media Group

Concluding remarks on the workshop from
Deputy Governor Cecilia Skingsley