This paper summarizes the progress the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) has made in converting its paper-based survey data collection system to an electronic reporting system that collects data via the Internet. The paper describes the pilot program that resulted in BEA's Automated Survey...

This paper was prepared for the IMF’s Electronic Discussion Group on the Treatment of Nonperforming Loans in Macroeconomic Statistics. Due to the linkages between loan recognition and interest accrual, and between loan writeoffs and operating surplus, decisions that are reached regarding the...

This paper looks at the U.S. experience and uses it as a benchmark for identifying the key questions that are being asked about the role and influence of MNC's and the types of statistics that are required to answer those questions. The paper goes on to assess whether the U.S. statistics that...

The timeliness of the U.S. input-output (I-O) accounts is a major concern for policymakers and industry analysts, as well as academics. In response, the Bureau of Economic Analysis initiated research in 2001 to identify, develop and implement an estimating method for producing more timely and...

Most economists conclude that the U.S. regions have converged in per capita earnings during a majority of the 20th century, though controversy abounds over the methods employed to test for such convergence. Using time-series techniques, this paper finds evidence that the U.S. regions have...

Retail industry product margin rates are used to estimate the retail output proportion of final consumption commodities. The Census Bureau collects data on industry margin rates, but it does not collect product margin rate data. To estimate retail industry-by-commodity output, industry margin...

Retail industry product margin rates are used to estimate the retail output proportion of final consumption commodities. The Census Bureau collects data on industry margin rates, but it does not collect product margin rate data. To estimate retail industry-by-commodity output, industry margin...