A Real-Time Data Set for Macroeconomists: Does Data Vintage Matter for Forecasting?

Croushore, Dean; Stark, Tom

doi:10.2139/ssrn.244554

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A Real-Time Data Set for Macroeconomists: Does Data Vintage Matter for Forecasting?

FRB of Philadelphia Working Paper No. 00-6

31 Pages Posted: 2 Nov 2000

See all articles by Dean Croushore

Dean Croushore

University of Richmond - E. Claiborne Robins School of Business

Tom Stark

Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia

Date Written: June 2000

Abstract

This paper describes a real-time data set for macroeconomists that can be used for a variety of purposes, including forecast evaluation. The data set consists of quarterly vintages, or snapshots, of the major macroeconomic data available at quarterly intervals in real time. The paper explains the construction of the data set, examines the properties of several of the variables in the data set across vintages, and provides an example showing how data revisions can affect forecasts.

JEL Classification: C82, E30

Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation

Croushore, Dean and Stark, Tom, A Real-Time Data Set for Macroeconomists: Does Data Vintage Matter for Forecasting? (June 2000). FRB of Philadelphia Working Paper No. 00-6, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=244554 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.244554