Economic Data
Overview
In order to test an economic model, the model must be compared
against actual data. Typically economic data is collected
and compiled by government agencies and are generally free to
the public.
United States Economic Data Charts
Economic Data - Sources and Tools
In addition to the hosted data above, you can access economic data through
apps on the davinci platform.
- St Louis Federal Reserve - FRED :
The Saint Louis Federal Reserve Bank publishes US economic data
on its site (FRED). They make that data available through
a web service. The fred app creates an interface for users
to query the FRED site.
- Bureau of Economic Analysis :
The Bureau of Economic Analysis publishes US economic data
on its site (BEA). They make that data available through
a web service. The bea app creates an interface for users
to query the BEA site.
- FDIC :
The FDIC collects information from banks in the United States
in the form of the Call Report. Call report data is published
and hosted on the FDIC site for public use. The call report
app allows users to query and retrieve data that has been published
and shared on the FDIC site.
- SEC :
The Securities and Exchange Commision collects data from public companies
and publishes it in the Edgar data base. The edgar app allows you to
query and retrieve that data.
- US Treasury :
The United States department of the Treasury is responsible for
collecting taxes and spending money for the United States government.
As such, it is also responsible for United States governmental borrowings,
in the form of Treasurity securities (bills and bonds).
The treasury reports information on the current yields for
different treasury securities on its site. The treasury app
collects the published data in a database that users can query.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics :
Economic Data Types
Economic data generally falls within two categories:
A stock is an accumulated value, whereas a flow represents the change in an accumulated value. The typical way to view these types
is by analogy with water in a bathtub. The amount of water in a bathtub represents a stock. The water flowing through the
bathtub drain is a flow. (see
Mankiw).
For information about bathtub like dynamic models, please see
bathtub models.
