The significance of empirical research in the social sciences can be compared to that of experiments in the natural sciences. Of utmost importance for such empirical research is the availability of long-term statistics and micro-data. Based on this recognition, this research division manages the IER's Research Centre for Information and Statistics of Social Science, a facility open to both the Japanese and international research communities. It estimates and publishes long-term economic statistics on Japan and Asia, industrial and regional statistics, productivity statistics, and other data, while also making progress on easy access to micro data of government statistics in partnership with the Statistics Bureau of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications. It also advances research in areas such as applied econometrics, economic statistical theory, and quantitative economic history.