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"Defense" statistical office

The "ministerial statistical office for Defense" and the armaments sector is the Economic Observatory for Defense (Observatoire Économique de la Défense: OED) at the Defense Ministry.

Contents

Main missions

OED exercises its competence in the field of armed forces and defense-sector enterprises.

It collects, compiles, and summarizes information of use to Ministry officials. It also conducts economic studies.

Statistical production

OED prepares a comprehensive annual census of the Defense Ministry's civilian and military personnel using individual payroll data. Portions of this processed statistical information are communicated to INSEE in aggregated form.

OED tracks financial data on defense procurement contracts and manages a database, called SANDIE, on enterprises operating in the defense sector.

It produces the defence satellite account, a macroeconomic summary of data from the field based on the national accounts. It also compares government expenditure with production of armaments companies.

On behalf of the Ministry's Financial Affairs Directorate (Direction des Affaires Financières: DAF), OED monitors issues concerning the fiscal treatment of employee compensation and pensions paid by the Defense Ministry within the framework of the new Constitutional Bylaw on Budget Acts (LOLF).

The Observatory also tabulates imports and exports of military equipment.

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Studies and forecasting

OED monitors the defense sector's economic environment and developments in the armaments market both in France and internationally. It conducts and commissions analyses and studies in the defense sphere, in liaison with academics and research centers.

OED also comprises a financial-engineering unit that analyzes specific financial issues such as hedging risks related to raw-materials supply and energy sources.

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Dissemination

The confidentiality of defense data justifies a restricted dissemination of statistical results and analytical findings. The OED Secretary-General represents the Ministry at CNIS.

In this capacity, in addition to enforcing defense classification rules, the Secretary-General ensures statistical confidentiality, particularly in the release of statistical data to research organizations.

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Status in institution

OED reports directly to the Financial Affairs Directorate (DAF), which monitors budgeting, accounting, tax, and customs issues. DAF is a unit of the Ministry's General Secretariat for Administration.

OED also acts as general secretariat for the Defense Economic Council (Conseil Économique de la Défense: CED), an organization directly linked to the Defense Ministry. Its mission is to issue annual economic proposals based on economic analysis and data summaries.

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