High-Frequency Data and a Weekly Economic Index during the Pandemic
AEA Papers and Proceedings
vol. 111,
May 2021
(pp. 326-30)
Abstract
This paper describes a weekly economic index (WEI) developed to track the rapid economic developments associated with the onset of and policy response to the novel coronavirus in the United States. The WEI, with its ten component series, tracks the overall economy. Comparing the contributions of the WEI's components in the 2008 and 2020 recessions reveals differences in how the two events played out at a high frequency. During the 2020 collapse and recovery, it provides a benchmark to interpret similarities and differences of novel indicators with shorter samples and/or nonstationary coverage, such as mobility indexes or credit card spending.Citation
Lewis, Daniel J., Karel Mertens, James H. Stock, and Mihir Trivedi. 2021. "High-Frequency Data and a Weekly Economic Index during the Pandemic." AEA Papers and Proceedings, 111: 326-30. DOI: 10.1257/pandp.20211050Additional Materials
JEL Classification
- C43 Index Numbers and Aggregation; leading indicators
- I12 Health Behavior
- I18 Health: Government Policy; Regulation; Public Health
- E20 Consumption, Saving, Production, Investment, Labor Markets, and Informal Economy: General (includes Measurement and Data)
- C82 Methodology for Collecting, Estimating, and Organizing Macroeconomic Data; Data Access