Statistical Terms Glossary

Substantial equivalence is a concept, first described in an OECD publication in 1993, which stresses than an assessment of a novel food, in particular one that is genetically modified, should demonstrate that the food is as safe as its traditional counterpart.

See: Market power

This focuses on the outcomes and impacts of laws and policies. Substantive equality goes far beyond creating formal legal equality for women (where all are equal under the law) and means that governments are responsible for the impact of laws. This requires governments to tailor legislation to respond to the realities of women’s lives. Striving for substantive equality also places a responsibility on governments to implement laws, through gender-responsive governance and functioning justice systems that meet women’s needs. Substantive equality is a concept expressed in the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW). It recognizes that because of historic discrimination, women do not start on an equal footing to men.

A product whose characteristics are similar to those of another product and that can be used to meet the same kinds of consumer needs or wants.

The replacement of products by substitutes, typically in response to changes in relative prices. Rational utility-maximizing consumers, as price takers, typically react to changes in relative prices by reducing, at least marginally, their consumption of goods and services that have become relatively dearer and increasing their consumption of substitutes that have become relatively cheaper. Substitution results in a negative correlation between the quantity and price relatives.

The bias that arises when the index number formula used for an output PPI systematically understates average price increases because it does not take into account that producers seeking to maximize revenue from a given technology and inputs may shift production to items with above average relative price increases.

The shallow water zone, often only a few feet deep, which is influenced by tides but never completely drained at low tide.

Successful completion is defined according to the graduation requirements established by each country: in some countries, completion occurs as a result of passing a final, curriculum-based examination or series of examinations. In other countries, completion occurs after a specific number of teaching hours has been accumulated (although completion of some or all of the course hours may also involve examinations)

Two or more temporary crops grown successively on the same piece of land at different times during the year.

Temporary crops grown more than once on the same land in the same agricultural year.

See Recommended price.

Act to deliberately injure oneself resulting in death, as recorded and classified by the competent national authority.
Note: Suicides and attempted suicides are not included in transport accidents casualties because they are deliberate acts.

Sulphur dioxide (S02) is a heavy, pungent, colourless gas formed primarily by the combustion of fossil fuels. It is harmful to human beings and vegetation, and contributes to the acidity in precipitation

Sum-of-the-years-digits depreciation is a depreciation profile based on an amount of annual capital consumption that declines linearly over the life of the asset. The amount in any year is calculated as the number of years that the asset is expected to remain in the capital stock divided by the sum-of-the-digits of the service life of the asset when new.

Sunk costs are costs which, once committed, cannot be recovered. Sunk costs arise because some activities require specialized assets that cannot readily be diverted to other uses. Second-hand markets for such assets are therefore limited. Sunk costs are always fixed costs, but not all fixed costs are sunk.
Examples of sunk costs are investments in equipment which can only produce a specific product, the development of products for specific customers, advertising expenditures and R&D expenditures. In general, these are firm-specific assets.

See Benefit.

The waters lying immediately above the seabed or deep ocean floor up to the surface.