UNCTAD launched the Productive Capacities Index (PCI) in 2021. The first version of the PCI covered the period 2000-2018 and 193 economies. The PCI was developed in response to the request by member States at the UNCTAD XIV Conference in Nairobi (the Nairobi Maafikiano Paragraph 76k) and the United Nations Economic and Social Council (E/RES/2017/29) with the aim to guide policy formulation and implementation to foster productive capacities in developing countries.
This document presents outcomes and findings related to work undertaken to update the Productive Capacities Index in 2022 and 2023.
The report details the methodological and technical changes made to PCI released on UNCTADstat 20 June 2023. PCI users are advised to consult the UNCTADStat Data Centre to download updated data and editable working files to ensure the most recent values are captured in their analysis. Statistics presented through the UNCTADStat Data Centre reflect the most up-to-date revision and should be considered the values of reference.
The PCI is based on 42 indicators in 8 categories, which refer to variables directly collected or calculated as a combination of other collected variables (see Appendix 3.1.). The indicators were updated with the most recently available data and revisions based on the same sources as the original PCI version, before the update round described herein started. Only when the original source was no longer available was a new source sought.
It is important to highlight at the outset that one of the main challenges for the computation of the PCI is the paucity of data and the comprehensive nature of productive capacities itself. When data is available, it is not necessarily consistent for all the years and countries covered by the PCI, potentially leading to high levels of missing values in the data series used as inputs.
Beyond the mere time update, the primary goal of the update was therefore, to improve, wherever possible, the original methodology in dealing with missing data, extrapolating data points. This update cycle also provides an opportunity to rethink the sequence of the building blocks of the PCI accordingly, as well as enhance, modernize and better document the computing programmes.
