Potential of Search Data in Assessment of Current Economic Conditions

Azusa Matsumoto, Kohei Matsumura and Noriyuki Shiraki ()
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Azusa Matsumoto: Bank of Japan
Kohei Matsumura: Bank of Japan

No 2013-04-18, Bank of Japan Research Papers from Bank of Japan

Abstract: One of the problems in economic assessments is the time lag between economic activities and publication for most economic indicators. In order to address this issue, anecdotal information obtained from companies is often used as supplement material. In recent years, the development and spread of information and communications technology has made it possible to obtain a wide range of information with shorter lags, and led to the emergence of a technique called "nowcasting" that uses this information to forecast currently unreleased data. This paper contains a brief explanation of nowcasting and then examines a method using Internet search data that has garnered so much attention in recent years and the potential to use it in economic assessments. The paper includes an analysis of service consumption (travel) before and after the Great East Japan Earthquake and finds that travel-related search data provides valuable information for the nowcasting of outlays for travel.

Date: 2013-04-18
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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