1. Interpreting economic indicators -- 2. Essential mechanics -- 3. Measuring economic activity -- Omissions -- Output, expenditure and income -- Prices -- Putting it in context -- Reliability -- 4. Growth : trends and cycles -- Nominal GDP -- GDP per head -- Real GDP -- GDP : output -- GDP : expenditure -- Productivity -- Cyclical or leading indicators -- 5. Population, employment and unemployment -- Population -- Labour or workforce -- Employment -- Unemployment and vacancies -- 6. Fiscal indicators -- Public expenditure -- Government revenues -- Budget balance, deficit, surplus -- National debt ; government or public debt -- 7. Consumers -- Personal income, disposable income -- Consumer and personal expenditure, private consumption -- Personal and household savings ; savings ratio -- Consumer confidence -- 8. Investment and savings -- Fixed investment and GDFCF -- Investment intentions -- Stocks (inventories) -- National savings, savings ratio -- 9. Industry and commerce -- Business conditions ; indices and surveys -- Industrial and manufacturing production -- Capacity use and utilisation -- Manufacturing orders -- Motor vehicles -- Construction orders and output -- Housing starts, completions and sales -- Wholesale sales or turnover, orders and stocks -- Retail sales or turnover, orders and stocks -- 10. The balance of payments -- Accounting conventions -- Imports of goods and services -- Exports of goods and services -- Trade balance, merchandise trade balance -- Current-account balance -- Capital- and financial-account flows -- International investment position (IIP) -- Official reserves -- External debt, net foreign assets -- 11. Exchange rates -- Nominal exchange rates -- Special drawing rights (SDRs) -- EMU, ecu, ERM and euro -- Effective exchange rates -- Real exchange rates ; competitiveness -- Terms of trade -- 12. Money and financial markets -- Money supply, money stock, Mo ... M5, liquidity -- Bank lending, advances, credit, consumer credit -- Central bank policy rates -- Interest rates ; short-term and money-market rates -- Bond yields -- Yield curves, gaps and ratios -- Real interest rates and yields -- Share prices and yields -- 13. Prices and wages -- Price indicators -- Gold price -- Oil prices -- Commodity price indices -- Export and import prices ; unit values -- Producer and wholesale prices -- Surveys of price expectations -- Wages, earnings and labour costs -- Unit labour costs -- Consumer or retail prices -- Consumer or private expenditure deflators -- GDP deflators -- Appendix. Useful Websites -- Index.
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SUMMARY OR ABSTRACT
Text of Note
Guide for the nonspecialist to interpreting economic indicators relating to GDP and GNI (GNP); growth, trends, and cycles; population and employment; government; consumers; investment and savings; industry and commerce; balance of payments; exchange rates; and money and financial markets. Clearly explains the economic realities of today's world. --