We ask them to develop clever, versatile tools that can provide intelligible answers to policymakers’ queries. Clever tools are thus necessary, if policy makers are to profit from granular data. You are all familiar with the famous computer principle ‘garbage in, garbage out’.
The problem with micro data is not to end up in a situation where lots of good quality information goes in but nothing comes out. In order to be able to manipulate micro data we need two things: common identifiers and reference databanks.