Introduction and conditions

Requests to access the data for scientific projects can be directed to the SEPI Foundation. Currently, the period 1990-2023 is available. Access will be granted for specific scientific projects only, according to the following requirements and criteria:

(1) The proposed research must be either conducted or directed by PhD holders. They will attend in writing to the following requirements:

(a) Exclusive use of the data for the submitted research project; non-transfer of the data to any third party, and maintenance of the confidentiality of the database when the results of the research are disclosed. Under no circumstances will the researcher be allowed to disclose the identity of any of the statistical units surveyed in the ESEE.

(b) The above notwithstanding, in order to fulfill the policy of replication of results followed in scientific journals, the SEPI Foundation will, upon request, devise the appropriate means to allow the researcher to comply, if required to, with that policy. For authors who claim to have based their research on the ESEE and are not legitimate users of the data, the SEPI Foundation reserves its right to bring the fact to the attention of the publishers.

(2) The proposed research project must be sponsored, financed or promoted by national or international, public or private research-oriented institutions. Own-founded projects will also be considered, particularly in the case of PhD Dissertations and MA Theses.

(3) The proposed research project must be briefly explained in a Report, in which the author must justify the need for the specific variables requested. The SEPI Foundation will not attend massive-data requests.

(4) Authors who have been authorized to use the ESEE data must mention that ESEE is a product of the SEPI Foundation when the results are presented in books, journal articles, dissertations, reports, conferences, seminars or any other.)

(5) Authors commit themselves to timely inform the SEPI Foundation of such presentations and it will index them in its official Web page.

Instructions

(1) The researcher who wishes to request data or see the available variables must register in the ESEE Database by filling the required fields in the folder Researcher access. He or she will receive an e-mail confirmation with a Web link to click on to validate the registration. If the researcher is already registered, he/she will be asked to enter his/her e-mail address and password. This process will open a new set of folders.

(2) The folder named - Available Variables - contains detailed information on each variable. These can be ordered according to different criteria. A detailed description of how each variable has been created is also available. It is advisable to take notes on each variable in which the researcher is interested.

(3) In order to request data on specific variables, the researcher must provide in the folder Projects some basic information about the research in which the data will be used. This includes its title and short summary as well as the names of the main researcher and other participants in the project. Once completed, the researcher must send by email to providing the following information: Report of the project and Statement of the researcher or person in charge of the project.

(4) Also in this same folder, the researcher selects the requested variables and the time period for each one. The variables are added to a "basket" for which the cost is submitted. This will be the cost (exc. VAT) that will appear in the invoice. Please note that the price needs not be the same for all variables, ranging from 2.50 € to 5.30 € according to (a) whether the requested fields have a yearly or a quadrennial nature, (b) the level of complexity in their construction, and (c) the continuous or discrete nature of the variable. Prices have been increased by 10% from September 2024, according to the agreement of the Board of Trustees of Fundación SEPI F.S.P. at its meeting held on July 23th.

(5) The price always refers to all firms for which information on that year and specific variable is available (i.e. for a column in which rows include the company code.)

When a quadrennial variable is requested, the SEPI Foundation will provide all existing information up to that moment. If the variable corresponds to a distant period (e.g. 1994/1997), the information is already compiled. However, if it corresponds to a currently ongoing four-year period (e.g. 2010/2013), the SEPI Foundation will provide information up to the last year. Information on remaining years will be available as it comes up –but will require a new request by the researcher. Due to the panel design of the survey, a high percentage of all firms (about 80%) answer all quadrennial variables in the first year of the four-year period.

(6) Once the variables have been selected, please click on the - Close the project - button. It is possible to make a request in different sessions. Hence, before clicking make sure that all the intended variables have been selected. To request updates for already accepted projects please go to the - Update and extension - folder and follow the instructions listed there.

(7) Once the - Close the project - routine is completed, the system generates a file and sends it to the SEPI Foundation, which will review the request and make an invoice to be sent to the e-mail address of the main researcher specified in - Projects -.

(8) When the SEPI Foundation has verified that the payment has been made and the required documentation (Project Report and Statement by the Researcher or by the person in charge of the project) is validated, the data will be sent to the researcher’s e-mail address (see characteristics of the files in the folder - Data files -).

Available data

Current time series: 1990-2023. Summary table of the sample evolution 1990-2023

Number of firms by activity in ESEE 2017 y 2018

Information about the level of completeness of the questionnaires’ fields

Changes in the industrial classification

Questionnaires: ESEE-2002

Information on changes to the ESEE-2016 questionnaire

        QUESTIONNAIRES (Only available in Spanish)

	COMPLETE	REDUCED
2023	N/A
2022		N/A
2021	N/A
2020	N/A
2019
2018		N/A
2017	N/A
2016
2015
2014		N/A
2013	N/A
2012
2011	N/A
2010		N/A
2009
2008
2007
2006
2005
2004	N/A
2003	N/A
2002		N/A
2001
2000
1999
1998		N/A
1997
1996
1995
1994		N/A
1993
1992
1991
1990		N/A

Number of yearly and quadrennial accessible variables: 795 . The presence of yearly and quadrennial variables is due to the different nature of the information collected in the ESEE. You can consult the way to obtain the variables from the questionnaire fields in the following list