INTER-AMERICANDEVELOPMENT BANK

Civil Registration: Policy and Administrative

Implications

Juan Cruz Vieyra(based on an IDB paper being drafted by

Guy Peters)

Key questions• What information agencies in the public sector want

from civil registration and how they will use the information?

• What role can improved civil registration and identity play in the coordination of public policies?

• What is the role of coordination in improving levels of registration?

• What are the key normative issues that may arise in developing registration systems in LAC as these systems become more digitized?

Three Basics to make CRVS work

Population Coverage• In order to be effective for planning, civil

registries need to cover entire population • Less expensive than census or household

surveys

Data Coverage

• Need to have relatively complete information• Parental information as well as child in birth

registration• Emphasis has been on Birth Registration but

needs to be equal for all Life Changes, for example:– Death and causes of death – Civil status (married, divorced, etc)– Gender changes

Timeliness• Encourage the collection of

data in hospitals and schools

• Take into account the effects of decentralization in federal states

• Infrastructure needs greatly vary among countries

Transforming CRVS into a powerful public policy tool

1. Understanding key linkages

•How can CRVS information be linked to other data bases?

•How can CRVS systems facilitate achieving social policy objectives?

Uses of CRVS information

2. Legal Simplification

• Not always straight forward how to move towards less requirements and simplified procedures

• Key challenges:– Data management for

accuracy– Data privacy (what’s

confidential vs. what’s public)

3. Digitalization

• Paperless procedures• Cost savings and reduced

physical infrastructure• Automatic release of

information• Enhanced analytical-

statistical capacity

4.1 Estimating Costs

• Identifying and registering remote or isolated populations

• Investments in technology• Civil service cost

4.2 Estimating Benefits

• Reducing costs of census or household surveys—tends to be less than half of other methods.

• Increased accuracy and timeliness.• Enhanced accuracy of benefits, like taxation.• Reducing fraud and abuse.• Reducing multiple registration systems.

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Summary• Civil Registration is not just a right, it is also a

powerful tool to achieve policy goals.• However, it requires certain levels of

institutional capacity and data quality (coverage + timeless).

• The region has an opportunity to leverage the importance of CRVS systems.

• Benefits hugely outweigh costs, but we need to get better at analyzing and communicating.

THANK YOU!

For more information:

UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGGuy Peters, bgpeters@pitt.edu

INTER-AMERICAN DEVELOPMENT BANKJuan Cruz Vieyra, juancr@iadb.org

Estefania Calderon, estefanac@iadb.org