The use and misuse of regional data: perspectives, challenges and policy implications from across the UK
探讨了英国在权力下放、脱欧和“均衡发展”背景下，制作和使用区域统计数据用于政策分析时面临的挑战，包括数据构建困难、粒度与时效性权衡等，并指出区域数据改进的机遇与风险。
This paper investigates the challenges faced when producing regional statistics for policy analysis and using regional data in policy debates. We consider the UK, where devolution, Brexit and ‘levelling up’ have placed a spotlight on regional data. However, the issues explored are of international relevance. Drawing on perspectives from analysts in UK government departments and the devolved administrations, we analyse: the difficulties constructing regional statistics; the trade-offs between granularity, timeliness, comparability and different user needs; and how regional data can support policymaking. Levelling up, we argue, has spurred regional data improvements, but the resulting emphasis on directly comparable UK-wide data also poses risks.