Appendix 11A
Data Sources for Measuring Aggregate Economic Activity
La Loria Konata
Policy Studies Liaison Librarian
GeorgiaStateUniversity Library
Atlanta, GA
Gardner Neely
InformationCenter
AndrewYoungSchool of Policy Studies
GeorgiaStateUniversity
Atlanta, GA
Output, Income, Price, and Employment Data
Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA)
/ Provides economic statistics of the U.S. economy.
Survey of Current Business / Includes monthly and quarterly cyclical indicator statistics.
Consumer Price Index (CPI) (U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics) / Produces monthly data on changes in the prices paid by urban consumers for a representative basket of goods and services.
Producer Price Index (PPI) (U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics) / Measures the average change over time in the selling prices received by domestic producers for their output.
Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) / The BLS is a gateway to statistical information including the Consumer Price Index, the Producer Price Index, and employment statistics.
TheMonthly Labor Review / Contains articles as well as a monthly statistics section on employment and earnings, unemployment, and the size of the labor force. See also
Federal Reserve Data
The Federal Reserve / Publishes data on the economic and financial conditions of the United States. One such publication is The Beige Book.
The Beige Book: Summary of Commentary on Current Economic Conditions / Summarizes current economic conditions in each Federal Reserve district through reports from bank and branch directors and interviews with key business contacts, economists, market experts, and other sources. Online coverage dates from 1996 to the present.
Federal Reserve Economic Data (FRED) II: Economic Data / Deals mainly with national data relating to the financial sector and the economy in general, such as interest rates, monetary aggregates, consumer and producer price indexes, gross domestic product, exchange rates, and trade data.
Data From Other Government Agencies
Economic Report of the President
/ This report outlines the President’s economic and budgetary agenda.U.S. Congressional Budget Office (CBO)
/ This agency provides historical budget information, current monthly statistics, and current budget and economic projections.U.S. Office of Management and Budget
/ This agency assists the President in preparing the U.S. budget. It provides the current budget with related documents.Economic Statistics Briefing Room (The WhiteHouse)
/ Provides easy access to current federal economic indicators. It provides links to information produced by a number of federal agencies Categories covered are employment, income, international, money, output, prices, production, and transportation.Treasury Bulletin (Department of the Treasury: Financial Management Service: ) / Issued quarterly, this report of federal fiscal operations includes details of federal debt, bonds, notes, market yield, and other federal financial obligations.
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation's (FDIC) Regional Outlook / A quarterly publication from the FDIC provides analysis of national and regional trends affecting the risk exposure of insured depository institutions.
1997 Economic Census / Profiles the U.S. economy every five years, from the national to the local level. The first reports for 2002 are available at:
Statistical Abstract of the United States (U.S. Census Bureau) / Available in both print and online formats. Each format includes basic statistics for a wide range of economic indicators presented in tables. Each table lists the source of the statistics for further reference.
Books
Strawser, Cornelia J., ed. Business Statistics of the United States. 9th ed. Lanham, MD: Bernan Press, 2004 / Gives an overview of the economy, including Gross Domestic Product and Consumer Price Index dating back to 1970 with quarterly statistics.
Darney, Arsen J., ed. Economic Indicators Handbook: Time Series, Conversions, Documentation. 5th ed. Detroit: Gale Research, 2002 / Gives the Gross National Product from 1869 to within a year of publication, the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) from 1929 to within a year of publication, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) covering 26 metro cities; and the Producer Price Index (PPI) to measure the economy of the United States.
State Profiles: The Population and Economy of Each U.S. State. 2nd ed. Lanham, MD: Bernan Press, 2003 / Contains rankings of states on key economic and demographic indicators.
Other Organizations/Web Sites
Economist.com / In partnership with the Economist Intelligence Unit, this website provides ten economic indicators for the United States.
Leading Economic Indicators (LEI) and Related Composites (The Conference Board) / The latest release updates the leading economic indicators and includes the lagging index and coincident business cycle indicators. The latest release is provided free of charge, but charts and other data are available by subscription only.
National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)
/ NBER is a private, nonprofit, nonpartisan research organization with more than 600 university professors conducting research. One of their main publications is the working paper series with such topic programs as Corporate Finance, Development of the American Economy, and Economic Fluctuations and Growth.Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), / OECD is an international organization with 30 member countries that focuses on the global economy.
International Monetary Fund (IMF) / The IMF is an international organization of 184 member countries. It works to meet the needs of the member countries in an unstable world economy. Its publication series include “Economic Issues,” “IMF Country Reports,” and “World Economic and Financial Surveys.”