Indicadores economicos

GUIDE TO ECONOMIC INDICATORS

OTHER ECONOMIST BOOKS Guide to Analysing Companies Guide to Business Modelling Guide to Business Planning Guide to the European Union Guide to Financial Markets Guide to Investment Strategy Guide to Management Ideas Numbers Guide Style Guide Dictionary of Business Dictionary of Economics International Dictionary of Finance Brands and Branding Business ConsultingBusiness Miscellany Business Strategy China’s Stockmarket Economics Future of Technology Globalisation Headhunters and How to Use Them Mapping the Markets The City Wall Street Essential Director Essential Economics Essential Investment Essential Negotiation Pocket World in Figures

GUIDE TO ECONOMIC INDICATORS
Making Sense of Economics

THE ECONOMIST IN ASSOCIATION WITH PROFILE BOOKS LTDPublished by Profile Books Ltd 3a Exmouth House, Pine Street, London ec1r 0jh Copyright © The Economist Newspaper Ltd 1992, 1994, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2006 Text copyright © Richard Stutely 1992, 1994, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2006 Diagrams and extracts copyright © The Economist Newspaper Ltd 1992, 1994, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2006 Additional research Sophie Brown, Carol Howard, Stella Jones, Ulric Spencer Allrights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise), without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the publisher of this book. The greatest care has beentaken in compiling this book. However, no responsibility can be accepted by the publishers or compilers for the accuracy of the information presented. Where opinion is expressed it is that of the author and does not necessarily coincide with the editorial views of The Economist Newspaper. Typeset in EcoType by MacGuru info@macguru.org.uk Printed in Great Britain by Clays, Bungay, Suffolk A CIPcatalogue record for this book is available from the British Library ISBN-10: 1 86197 974 9 ISBN-13: 978 1 86197 974 6

Contents
List of tables List of charts 1 2 3 Interpreting economic indicators Essential mechanics Measuring economic activity Omissions Output, expenditure and income Prices Putting it in context Reliability Growth: trends and cycles Nominal GDP GDP per head Real GDP GDP: outputGDP: expenditure Productivity Cyclical or leading indicators Population, employment and unemployment Population Labour or workforce Employment Unemployment and vacancies Fiscal indicators Public expenditure Government revenues Budget balance, deficit, surplus National debt; government or public debt Consumers Personal income, disposable income Consumer and personal expenditure, private consumptionPersonal and household savings; savings ratio Consumer confidence Investment and savings Fixed investment and GDFCF viii x 1 12 28 30 32 38 39 40 41 43 45 46 49 50 51 54 58 59 61 64 66 71 72 76 79 83 85 86 88 92 94 96 98

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Investment intentions Stocks (inventories) National savings, savings ratio 9 Industry and commerce Business conditions; indices and surveysIndustrial 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, merchandisetrade 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, M0 ......