Category Archives: Uncategorized

Nowcasting, Big Data, MIDAS, Lasso, etc.

I get the impression that people mix up things that are logically distinct, even if they might overlap. For instance, one reader says criticizes the failure to use big data at the Fed [1] [2] (see this post for a rejoinder) and in a closely adjoining comment, contrasts the GDPNow series run by the Atlanta Fed and the absence of a global counterpart at the Board. Let’s define some terms, so people who are inclined toward confusion become less confused.

Continue reading

“Big Data” at the Fed

A reader bewails the failure of the Fed to use “new” tools like “big data”. And yet, 10 seconds to type into the Fed’s search engine yields dozens of pages of results. Why is it that some people fail to understand the limitations of their own knowledge, and simultaneously refuse to use “search engines”. Anyway, here’s excerpts from the first two pages of results:

Continue reading

EconoFact at Five

Tomorrow, January 20th, EconoFact celebrates its 5 year anniversary, providing non-partisan, incisive analyses on timely and important economic and social policy issues. It does so by bringing to the public debate the expertise of leading economists and social scientists via memos and podcasts.

Continue reading