Search Results

SORT BY: PREVIOUS / NEXT
Jel Classification:E01 

Report
Aggregate Output Measurements: A Common Trend Approach

We analyze a model for N different measurements of a persistent latent time series when measurement errors are mean-reverting, which implies a common trend among measurements. We study the consequences of overdifferencing, finding potentially large biases in maximum likelihood estimators of the dynamics parameters and reductions in the precision of smoothed estimates of the latent variable, especially for multiperiod objects such as quinquennial growth rates. We also develop an R2 measure of common trend observability that determines the severity of misspecification. Finally, we apply our ...
Staff Reports , Paper 962

Report
Manufacturing Gains from Green Energy and Semiconductor Spending since the CHIPS and Inflation Reduction Acts

Real investment—spending (net of inflation) on nonresidential construction, manufacturing equipment, and intellectual property products (IPP)—in the United States has grown substantially over the last few years despite the high-interest-rate environment that emerged in 2022 and is only now beginning to subside. The current strength of investment is important to policymakers because its sensitivity to interest rates makes it a key channel through which monetary policy is transmitted into the economy and because real private domestic investment constitutes 15 percent of US real GDP.
Current Policy Perspectives , Paper 2024-7

Working Paper
Missing Import Price Changes and Low Exchange Rate Pass-Through

A large body of empirical work has found that exchange rate movements have only modest effects on inflation. However, the response of an import price index to exchange rate movements may be underestimated because some import price changes are missed when constructing the index. We investigate downward biases that arise when items experiencing a price change are especially likely to exit or to enter the index. We show that, in theoretical pricing models, entry and exit have different implications for the timing and size of these biases. Using Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) microdata, we ...
International Finance Discussion Papers , Paper 1040

Discussion Paper
Estimating the output gap in real time

I propose a novel method of estimating the potential level of U.S. GDP in real time. The proposed wage-based measure of economic potential remains virtually unchanged when new data are released. The distance between current and potential output ? the output gap ? satisfies Okun?s law and outperforms many other measures of slack in forecasting inflation. Thus, I provide a robust statistical tool useful for understanding current economic conditions and guiding policymaking.
Staff Papers , Issue Dec

Report
High Frequency Data and a Weekly Economic Index during the Pandemic

This paper describes a weekly economic index (WEI) developed to track the rapid economic developments associated with the onset of and policy response to the novel coronavirus in the United States. The WEI, with its ten component series, tracks the overall economy. Comparing the contributions of the WEI’s components in the 2008 and 2020 recessions reveals differences in how the two events played out at a high frequency. During the 2020 collapse and recovery, it provides a benchmark to interpret similarities and differences of novel indicators with shorter samples and/or nonstationary ...
Staff Reports , Paper 954

Report
GDP Solera: The Ideal Vintage Mix

We exploit the information in the successive vintages of gross domestic expenditure (GDE) and gross domestic income (GDI) from the current comprehensive revision to obtain an improved, timely measure of U.S. aggregate output by exploiting cointegration between the different measures and taking their monthly release calendar seriously. We also combine all existing overlapping comprehensive revisions to achieve further improvements. We pay particular attention to the Great Recession and the pandemic, which, despite producing dramatic fluctuations, does not generate noticeable revisions in ...
Staff Reports , Paper 1027

Report
Measuring Real Activity Using a Weekly Economic Index

This paper describes a weekly economic index (WEI) developed to track the rapid economic developments associated with the onset of and policy response to the novel coronavirus in the United States. The WEI is a weekly composite index of real economic activity, with eight of ten series available the Thursday after the end of the reference week. In addition to being a weekly real activity index, the WEI has strong predictive power for output measures and provided an accurate nowcast of current-quarter GDP growth in the first half of 2020. We document how the WEI responded to key events and data ...
Staff Reports , Paper 920

Working Paper
Communicating Data Uncertainty: Multi-Wave Experimental Evidence for UK GDP

Economic statistics are commonly published without any explicit indication of their uncertainty. To assess if and how the UK public interprets and understands data uncertainty, we conduct two waves of a randomized controlled online experiment. A control group is presented with the headline point estimate of GDP, as emphasized by the statistical office. Treatment groups are then presented with alternative qualitative and quantitative communications of GDP data uncertainty. We find that most of the public understands that uncertainty is inherent in official GDP numbers. But communicating ...
Working Papers , Paper 21-28

Working Paper
Are Revisions to State-Level GDP Data in the US Well Behaved?

No, first estimates of state GDP growth are not rational forecasts, except for Georgia. Revisions to first estimates of state-level GDP growth tend to be biased, large, and/or predictable using information known at the time of the first estimate.
Working Papers , Paper 25-11

Working Paper
Expanded GDP for Welfare Measurement in the 21st Century

The information revolution currently underway has changed the economy in ways that are hard to measure using conventional GDP procedures. The information available to consumers has increased dramatically as a result of the Internet and its applications, and new mobile communication devices have greatly increased the speed and reach of its accessibility. An individual now has an unprecedented amount of information on which to base consumption choices, and the “free” nature of the information provided means that the resulting benefits largely bypass GDP and accrue directly to consumers. ...
Working Papers , Paper 20-10

FILTER BY year

FILTER BY Content Type

FILTER BY Author

Jordà, Òscar 5 items

Lewis, Daniel J. 5 items

Mertens, Karel 5 items

Stock, James H. 5 items

Mitchell, James 4 items

Nakamura, Leonard I. 4 items

show more (75)

FILTER BY Jel Classification

E30 8 items

E32 7 items

E23 6 items

C51 5 items

E44 5 items

show more (63)

FILTER BY Keywords

COVID-19 5 items

GDP 4 items

Internet 3 items

high frequency 3 items

productivity 3 items

Data Revisions 2 items

show more (144)

PREVIOUS / NEXT