From BEA today:
Is a Decline in Vehicle Miles Traveled a 1 Month Leading Indicator for Recession?
Mr. Steven Kopits writes:
Another is vehicle miles traveled, which is either very short term leading (ie, failing one month or so prior to the official onset of recession), coincident, or lagging by up to 4-5 months if one is using, say, 12 month moving sums.
So You Think We Might Be in a Recession Today (Part III)
Some people point to initial claims for unemployment insurance.
Reminders: Don’t Accuse People of Manipulating the Data before Figuring Out What Has Been Done, and Other Helpful Hints for Not Losing All Credibility
Some additional notes for my students:
Reminders: Logs, Chain-Weights, Confidence Intervals, Data Footnotes, Data Revisions, and Stereotypes
Notes for my students:
Nowcasts and Forecasts
of GDP, along with current Gross Domestic Output (average of GDP and GDI):
One Year Ahead Inflation Expectations as of End-June
Year-on-year CPI headline inflation is expected to be lower as of a year from now, ranging from 4.2% to 6.8%.
Why We Don’t Call Recessions on the Basis of Petroleum Use
Reader Steven Kopits writes:
So You Think We Might Be In a Recession Today (Part II)?
Look around at enough indicators (say vehicle miles traveled) and you might think so. A follow up to this post. Let’s look at what conventional and high frequency indicators say.
In Memory of Robert Haveman
Robert Haveman, a prime force behind the establishment of the La Follette School of Public Affairs, passed last week. Today, Tim Smeeding, a longtime friend, colleague, co-author and student of Bob Haveman, shares some thoughts on this occasion.