Product Description

A blueprint for understanding and interpreting essential economic information

From the publishers of The Economist, the renowned international business weekly, this practical resource offers a detailed road map of all the major—and many of the less well-known—economic indicators in existence today. Explaining exactly what they are, why they are significant, how reliable they are, and—perhaps, most importantly—how to interpret them, it covers over 100 indicators, including:

• GDP
• Population, employment, unemployment
• Public expenditure
• Personal and disposable income
• Fixed investments
• Imports and exports
• Nominal exchange rates
• Money supply and money stock
• Wages, earnings, and labor costs.

Clearly organized, accurate, and accessible, The Economist Guide to Economic Indicators is an indispensible reference for understanding key economic data from around the world.

Success in today's global business environment requires a thorough knowledge of important economic figures and a firm grasp of their meaning. Now, The Economist Guide to Economic Indicators provides you with a detailed road map of all the major—and many of the less well-known—indicators that exist worldwide.

Economic indicators provide invaluable insights into how different economies and different markets are performing, enabling practitioners to adjust their investment strategies in order to achieve the best return. However, in order to make the right decisions, you must know how to interpret the relevant indicators. The Economist Guide to Economic Indicators enables you to read—and use—indicators accurately and effectively.

Covering approximately 100 indicators—including GDP, population, exchange rates, disposable income, public expenditure, and bond yields—this practical resource explains exactly what they are, why they are significant, where and when they're published, and how reliable they are. Perhaps most importantly, the Guide shows you how to interpret these indicators correctly, providing straightforward guidelines through which you can distill such vital information as start and end points for changes, inflational influences, time frames, and yardsticks for judging future trends.

Organized to highlight linkages and aid interpretation, and incorporating data for the fifteen largest industrial countries, this concise, accessible guide is essential for anyone eager to be brought up to speed on these key economic measurements.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #906374 in Books
• Published on: 2005-01-10
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 224 pages

From the Publisher
A blueprint for understanding economic information from all over the world. There is a critical need today for business executives, investors, and students to have a thorough knowledge of the economic indicators that are released every day and used throughout the world. This comprehensive primer addresses that need. Clearly explaining each major indicator and how to interpret it, The Economist Guide to Economic Indicators enables readers to not only understand the facts and grasp their significance, but to relate them to their individual situations.

From the Inside Flap
Success in today’s global business environment requires a thorough knowledge of important economic figures and a firm grasp of their meaning. Now, The Economist Guide to Economic Indicators provides you with a detailed road map of all the major—and many of the less well-known—indicators that exist worldwide. Economic indicators provide invaluable insights into how different economies and different markets are performing, enabling practitioners to adjust their investment strategies in order to achieve the best return. However, in order to make the right decisions, you must know how to interpret the relevant indicators. The Economist Guide to Economic Indicators enables you to read—and use—indicators accurately and effectively. Covering approximately 100 indicators—including GDP, population, exchange rates, disposable income, public expenditure, and bond yields—this practical resource explains exactly what they are, why they are significant, where and when they’re published, and how reliable they are. Perhaps most importantly, the Guide shows you how to interpret these indicators correctly, providing straightforward guidelines through which you can distill such vital information as start and end points for changes, inflational influences, time frames, and yardsticks for judging future trends. Organized to highlight linkages and aid interpretation, and incorporating data for the fifteen largest industrial countries, this concise, accessible guide is essential for anyone eager to be brought up to speed on these key economic measurements.

From the Back Cover
"A blueprint for understanding and interpreting essential economic information

From the publishers of The Economist, the renowned international business weekly, this practical resource offers a detailed road map of all the major—and many of the less well-known—economic indicators in existence today. Explaining exactly what they are, why they are significant, how reliable they are, and—perhaps, most importantly—how to interpret them, it covers over 100 indicators, including: GDP Population, employment, unemployment Public expenditure Personal and disposable income Fixed investments Imports and exports Nominal exchange rates Money supply and money stock Wages, earnings, and labor costs.

Clearly organized, accurate, and accessible, The Economist Guide to Economic Indicators is an indispensible reference for understanding key economic data from around the world.

Success in today's global business environment requires a thorough knowledge of important economic figures and a firm grasp of their meaning. Now, The Economist Guide to Economic Indicators provides you with a detailed road map of all the major—and many of the less well-known—indicators that exist worldwide.

Economic indicators provide invaluable insights into how different economies and different markets are performing, enabling practitioners to adjust their investment strategies in order to achieve the best return. However, in order to make the right decisions, you must know how to interpret the relevant indicators. The Economist Guide to Economic Indicators enables you to read—and use—indicators accurately and effectively.

Covering approximately 100 indicators—including GDP, population, exchange rates, disposable income, public expenditure, and bond yields—this practical resource explains exactly what they are, why they are significant, where and when they're published, and how reliable they are. Perhaps most importantly, the Guide shows you how to interpret these indicators correctly, providing straightforward guidelines through which you can distill such vital information as start and end points for changes, inflational influences, time frames, and yardsticks for judging future trends.

Organized to highlight linkages and aid interpretation, and incorporating data for the fifteen largest industrial countries, this concise, accessible guide is essential for anyone eager to be brought up to speed on these key economic measurements.

THE ECONOMIST, launched in 1843, is the most authoritative and influential international news and business magazine, and is widely read by top decision makers across the world."

Customer Reviews

If only economics were that easy
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.

A reference guide
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.

A good purchase
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.