This publication supplements the monthly Main Economic Indicators. It provides explanations on the sources and definitions used by individual Member countries and selected non-member countries to compile the short-term indicators currently presented in the MEI.

Existing economic indicators and indexes assess economic activity but no single indicator measures the general macro-economic performance of a nation, state, or region in a methodologically simple and intuitive way. This paper proposes a simple, yet informative metric called the Economic Performance Index (EPI). The EPI represents a step toward clarity, by combining data on inflation, unemployment, government deficit, and GDP growth into a single indicator. In contrast to other indexes, the EPI does not use complicated mathematical procedures but was designed for simplicity, making it easier for professionals and laypeople alike to understand and apply to the economy. To maximize ease of understanding, we adopt a descriptive grading system. In addition to a Raw EPI that gives equal weights to its components, we construct a Weighted EPI and show that both indexes perform similarly for U.S. data. To demonstrate the validity of the EPI, we conduct a review of U.S. history from 1790 to 2012. We show that the EPI reflects the major events in U.S. history, including wars, periods of economic prosperity and booms, along with economic depressions, recessions, and even panics. Furthermore, the EPI not only captures official recessions over the past century but also allows for measuring and comparing their relative severity. Even though the EPI is simple by its construction, we show that its dynamics are similar to those of the Chicago Fed National Activity Index (CFNAI) and The Conference Board Coincident Economic Index® (CEI).

This book presents new data to give an overview of shadow economies from OECD countries and propose solutions to prevent illicit work.

Explaining the significance of economic statistics and their relevance to everyday business, this guide provides a basic understanding of what the figures are, how they are compiled and how they fit together and how this knowledge can be applied to industry, commerce, politics and consumer affairs. The information allows small and medium-sized business to be as responsive to economic trends as conglomerates. This book is another in the series following Numbers Guide and Style Guide.

The pressure to produce explanations and forecasts and the economic dichotomies which insist on appearing, lead to a desire to deal with the description, analysis and forecast of the phenomenon of business cycles using economic indicators. This text provides an introduction to business cycles and their theoretical and historical basis. It also includes work on early indicator research and provides examples of business cycle indicators.

Controlling inflation is among the most important objectives of economic policy. By maintaining price stability, policy makers are able to reduce uncertainty, improve price-monitoring mechanisms, and facilitate more efficient planning and allocation of resources, thereby raising productivity. This volume focuses on understanding the causes of the Great Inflation of the 1970s and ’80s, which saw rising inflation in many nations, and which propelled interest rates across the developing world into the double digits. In the decades since, the immediate cause of the period’s rise in inflation has been the subject of considerable debate. Among the areas of contention are the role of monetary policy in driving inflation and the implications this had both for policy design and for evaluating the performance of those who set the policy. Here, contributors map monetary policy from the 1960s to the present, shedding light on the ways in which the lessons of the Great Inflation were absorbed and applied to today’s global and increasingly complex economic environment.

This publication compares key aspects of statistical methodologies used by OECD member countries in the compilation of wage related statistics. Such statistics comprise wages and earnings, minimum wages, labour costs and prices, unit labour costs and household income.

The report highlights the major events of the Organisation in 1999, provides a clear picture of its achievements and looks forward to the year in progress. Special features on important aspects of OECD’s work are interspersed throughout the report ...