A current awareness resource for students & faculty members in Business & Economics
Economic "point in time" data via Thomson Reuters Eikon + Datastream
Published by Mark BodnarI mentioned in yesterday's post about Thomson Reuters Eikon + Datastream that I'd be writing some follow-up posts to highlight specific aspects of these powerful databases. Today's focus: Economics! In particular, point-in-time economic data.
I suspect that the folks who need point-in-time economics data already know what it is, but for the rest of us...
[Economics point in time data] enables you to view economic data as it was originally reported upon release, then view how it changed over time. This information enables you to more accurately understand the impact economic data has on the market. [...]
Why point in time? In most economic databases, only the latest value is available. As a result, your model incorporates an erroneous assumption that this value is "as reported" and provides an inaccurate picture of how economics data might have impacted the market and investors' decisions. This assumption does not provide an accurate picture of how economics data might have impacted the market and investors' decisions.
(From: Thomson Reuters brochure)
That is... many economic measures (inflation, CPI, exports, etc.) are revised after they are reported, but the initial "as reported" values that get overwritten in many databases can be valuable as well.
Fortunately, SFU researchers now have easy access to such data for many countries. I just used one of the sample spreadsheets in the Datastream part of our new Thomson Reuters Eikon + Datastream resource to quickly extract point-in-time GDP data for Canada from 1995-Q2 up to the present. I could have just as easily grabbed UK inflation data or Australian employment data -- it's all there.
(I always feel like a "Tah Dah!" is required at moments like this... overkill?)
If you'd like to learn more about the economic data available via Datastream & Eikon, check out these detailed brochures:
- Thomson Reuters Economics Data (mostly about Datastream content)
- Eikon Economic Monitor App (about one of the many apps available within the Eikon interface)
As always, let me know if you have any questions!
-- MarkB
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Mark Bodnar
Economics & Business Librarian
mbodnar@sfu.ca