Guide to Economic Indicators: Making Sense of Economics (The Economist)

True to the style of The Economist, this book makes everything seem easier than it really is. However, for people who spend too much time thinking about economic issues, this is actually rather refreshing, much like a cold beer after a long day's work. Some examples: "In the long term, the growth in economic output depends on the number of people working and output per worker (productivity)" (Page 41); Or "In general, the more optimistic consumers are, the more likely they are to spend money. This boosts consumer spending and economic output" (Page 93)... ...One begins to yearn for the days where economics was more of an explanatory and less a mathematical science. The guide is divided into a number of chapters discussing issues and examples related to - How economic activity is calculated, and what the main indicators GDP/GNP/NNI capture and do not capture, as well as what changes in these indicators or their components mean. - Employment indicators such as employment by sector or the unemployment rate - Balance of payments and fiscal indicators, such as tax revenue or budget deficit - Consumer indicators, such as disposable income or consumer confidence and their significance - Investment and savings indicators, such as investment intentions or sales/inventory ratios - Business indicators, including business conditions, auto sales, construction orders and other common stats - Exchange rates and financial market indicators, such as interest rates and money supply. - Prices and wages, like the effect of oil price changes, among others Coverage of the most common and widely available indicators is fairly comprehensive. Given the simplicity of the book, it is better to have a certain level of economic knowledge and opinion to be able to put the content in context. Not much different to reading The Economist, really.

With the current economic conditions, I wouldn't be surprised if there were a lot more people like me trying to make sense out of the World Economy. I wanted a book that would give insight to common principles of economics and allow me to make more sense out of the finance and business reports I view on TV. This isn't it! In fact the book is more a reference tool for things TV reporters and journalists refer to, to support their theories. I found it insightful and will keep coming back to this book when I need an explanation of these indicators. It probably is essential for students and a good starting point for others.

I expected a guide that would assist in determining where we were in the business cycle. This wasn't really it. The book is structured more like an encyclopedia - analyzing each indicator in detail and in isolation. A fine addition to anyone's economic reference books, but disappointed me by failing to treat the economy as an organic whole.

As the title says, this book can help you make sense of economic indicators. The more you know, the easier it is for you to understand the economical aspects of society, and this seemed to add a lot more to my knowledge, and it clarified other thoughts.

This book has fully met my requirements.

I have been leafing through this book for little over an hour and I have already come across errors. Page 13 "Any series of numbers, as described below for the constant price series in Table 2.2 column E." So I carry out the calculations as described and check it against Table 2.2 on p14 and instead of getting the constant price series/index, I get the current price series/index. For example, the current price in Table 2.2, column A for 2005 is 12,638.4. Divide this by 100 to get 126.38. The current price for 2007 is 14,077.6. So dividing the 14,077.6 by 126.38 gives 111.4, which is labeled as the "current price index" in table 2.2 and not the "constant price index." So which is correct; did I work out the constant price index or the current price index???? I do not know much about this stuff which is why I bought this book, and with simple errors like this, how can I trust the rest of the text? And to think that this is the seventh edition!!!! I wonder if the Economist would like to volunteer a comment here, preferably with a commitment that they will proof read the text and send out a new copy to all those who have purchased the book with errors corrected. Matthew.