Economic Indicators Handbook - Hardcover

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Th e Economic Indicators Handbook ( EIH ) provides a comprehensive and convenient compilation of data that will be useful to anyone interested in the performance of the U.S. economy. Some 267 series are presented in 805 tables that provide actual and constant dollar summaries of economic performance (presumably, these are the "conversions" referred to in the book's subtitle). The book states that all "series begin with the earliest date for which statistics were collected or estimated by the government or other sources." Thus, the "Gross National Product" series begins with 1929 data and includes estimations extending back to 1869. The EIH is divided into eight chapters that cover the Gross National Product and Gross Domestic Product, business cycle indicators, various economic indicators (e.g., employment and trade statistics), the Consumer and Producer Price indexes, and selected stock market indexes. Each chapter begins with a brief description of the series and concludes with a short bibliography. More than 600 of the book's almost 1100 pages are devoted to the Consumer Price Index (CPI), which is reported on a monthly basis both in the aggregate and for 27 different cities. The least satisfactory chapter too briefly summarizes stock market performance. Unfortunately, the EIH covers only U.S. indicators; in today's global economy, even a brief chapter providing some comparative international statistics would have been a welcome addition--a suggestion for the second edition. For general and specialized collections.
- Peggy Smith, Pennsylvania State Univ., University Park
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.