Economics for Managers
Appendix 11A
Data Sources for Measuring Aggregate Economic Activity
La Loria Konata
Policy Studies Liaison Librarian
Georgia State University Library
Atlanta, GA
Gardner Neely
Information Center
Andrew Young School of Policy Studies
Georgia State University
Atlanta, GA
Output, Income, Price, and Employment Data
Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA)
www.bea.doc.gov
Provides economic statistics of the
U.S. economy.
Survey of Current Business
http://www.bea.doc.gov/bea/pubs.htm
Consumer Price Index (CPI) (U.S. Department of
Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics)
http://www.bls.gov/cpi/
Includes monthly and quarterly
cyclical indicator statistics.
Produces monthly data on changes in
the prices paid by urban consumers for
a representative basket of goods and
services.
Measures the average change over
time in the selling prices received by
domestic producers for their output.
Producer Price Index (PPI) (U.S. Department of Labor,
Bureau of Labor Statistics) http://www.bls.gov/ppi/
Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) www.bls.gov
The Monthly Labor Review
http://stats.bls.gov/opub/mlr/mlrhome.htm
The BLS is a gateway to statistical
information including the Consumer
Price Index, the Producer Price Index,
and employment statistics.
Contains articles as well as a monthly
statistics section on employment and
earnings, unemployment, and the size
of the labor force. See also
http://stats.bls.gov/.
Federal Reserve Data
The Federal Reserve http://www.federalreserve.gov
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
http://www.federalreserve.gov/FOMC/BeigeBook/2004/
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 http://research.stlouisfed.org/fred2/
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
www.gpoaccess.gov/eop/
This report outlines the President’s
economic and budgetary agenda.
U.S. Congressional Budget Office (CBO) www.cbo.gov
This agency provides historical budget
information, current monthly statistics,
and current budget and economic
projections.
U.S. Office of Management and Budget
http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/
This agency assists the President in
preparing the U.S. budget. It provides
the current budget with related
documents.
Economic Statistics Briefing Room (The White House)
Provides easy access to current federal
http://www.whitehouse.gov/fsbr/production.html
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
http://www.fms.treas.gov/bulletin/index.html
(Department of the Treasury: http://www.ustreas.gov/
Financial Management Service:
http://www.fms.treas.gov/index.html)
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
http://www.fdic.gov/bank/analytical/regional/index.html
A quarterly publication from the FDIC
provides analysis of national and
regional trends affecting the risk
exposure of insured depository
institutions.
1997 Economic Census
http://www.census.gov/epcd/www/econ97.html
Profiles the U.S. economy every five
years, from the national to the local
level. The first reports for 2002 are
available at:
http://www.census.gov/econ/census02/
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.
Statistical Abstract of the United States (U.S. Census
Bureau) http://www.census.gov/prod/www/statisticalabstract-02.html
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:
Gives the Gross National Product
Time Series, Conversions, Documentation. 5th ed.
Detroit: Gale Research, 2002
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
http://www.economist.com/countries/USA/
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) http://www.tcbindicators.org
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)
www.nber.org
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), www.oecd.org
OECD is an international organization
with 30 member countries that focuses
on the global economy.
International Monetary Fund (IMF) www.imf.org
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.”