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A Guide To U.S. Chain Aggregated Nipa Data
Author(s) -
Whelan Karl
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
review of income and wealth
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.024
H-Index - 57
eISSN - 1475-4991
pISSN - 0034-6586
DOI - 10.1111/1475-4991.00049
Subject(s) - national income and product accounts , chain (unit) , construct (python library) , economics , ideal (ethics) , aggregate (composite) , product (mathematics) , national accounts , econometrics , computer science , macroeconomics , political science , mathematics , physics , materials science , geometry , astronomy , law , composite material , programming language
In 1996, the U.S. Department of Commerce began using a new method to construct all aggregate “real” series in the National Income and Product Accounts (NIPA). This method is based on the so‐called “ideal chain index” pioneered by Irving Fisher. The new methodology has some extremely important implications that are unfamiliar to many practicing empirical economists; as a result, mistaken calculations with NIPA data have become very common. This paper explains the motivation for the switch to chain aggregation, and then illustrates the usage of chain–aggregated data with three topical examples, each relating to a different aspect of how information technologies are changing the U.S. economy.