Can Google econometrics predict unemployment? Evidence from Spain

Marcos González-Fernández and Carmen González-Velasco

Economics Letters, 2018, vol. 170, issue C, 42-45

Abstract: The aim of the paper is to analyze the ability of internet activity, what has been called Google econometrics, to predict unemployment in Spain. We include a new predictor for Spanish unemployment based on internet information provided by Google Trends. Using monthly data from January 2004 to November 2017 we found evidence of a high correlation between internet queries and unemployment. Besides that, the inclusion of internet activity enhances model’s prediction performance.

Keywords: Google econometrics; Unemployment; Spain; Forecasting (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C53 E24 E27 G17 J64 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (5)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:ecolet:v:170:y:2018:i:c:p:42-45

DOI: 10.1016/j.econlet.2018.05.031

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