Assignment #2:
1. Anyone who deals with international trade would be interested in this. The Trade Weighted Index might be used to determine how much certain goods are worth, and how much to buy them for, for any country in the world.
2. This statistic is collected by creating an weighted average of exchange rates, with the weight of each foreign country equal to its share in trade. More prominent trading partners receive a higher index. In the US, this data is collected by the Federal Reserve, and is compiled every month.
3. Using the value of $100 in January 1997 as a reference point, that amount would be worth $102.8725 according to the Trade Weighted Index for March 2010. Compared to other countries, one US dollar is currently worth 1.3570 euros and 1.5058 British pounds.
Sources:
The People, "Trade Weighted Index", Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trade_weighted_index
"Foreign Exchange Rates (March 2010)", Federal Reserve Statistical Release, April 1, 2010
http://www.federalreserve.gov/releases/g5/current
Thursday, April 8, 2010
US Birth Rate Below Replacement Level
Assignment #1:
1. The study was conducted by the US Center for Disease Control and Prevention.
2. Because the CDC is run by the government, the study was government-funded.
3. The CDC, I assume, would not have any interest in a particular result. Also, due to the simplicity and official nature of the study, I think it is safe to assume that the report contains very little bias.
4. Although not noted in the article, information on methodology is included in the official report. The study is based on 99.9% of the births in 2008. That data is then compared to "independent control counts of all births received in state vital statistics offices in 2008."
5. The results are communicated in a very straightforward manner. I would even go so far as to say that the article is a little too heavily weighted toward clear statistical data and does not embellish on the data enough.
6. The article does not use any graphs, although they would have been very useful in the presentation of this data.
Source:
Patrick B. Craine, "U.S. Birth Rate Drops Below Replacement Level", Life Site News, April 7, 2010
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2010/apr/10040802.html
1. The study was conducted by the US Center for Disease Control and Prevention.
2. Because the CDC is run by the government, the study was government-funded.
3. The CDC, I assume, would not have any interest in a particular result. Also, due to the simplicity and official nature of the study, I think it is safe to assume that the report contains very little bias.
4. Although not noted in the article, information on methodology is included in the official report. The study is based on 99.9% of the births in 2008. That data is then compared to "independent control counts of all births received in state vital statistics offices in 2008."
5. The results are communicated in a very straightforward manner. I would even go so far as to say that the article is a little too heavily weighted toward clear statistical data and does not embellish on the data enough.
6. The article does not use any graphs, although they would have been very useful in the presentation of this data.
Source:
Patrick B. Craine, "U.S. Birth Rate Drops Below Replacement Level", Life Site News, April 7, 2010
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2010/apr/10040802.html
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
Consumer Price Index (CPI)
1. Anyone concerned with economic activity would be interested in the CPI. Along with the census, National Income Account, and the National Product Account, the CPI is one of the most closely watched national economic statistics. The index (especially in the U.S.) approximates the cost of living.
2. Two types are data are necessary in order to construct the CPI. They are price data and weighting data. The price data are collected from a sample of goods and services from a sample of locations from a sample of times. The weighting data are estimates of the shares of different types of spending as fractions of the total spending covered by the index. The index for the current time is then compared to that of a base year in this manner:
CPI= (Productrep X Pricecurrent)/(Productrep X Price11987*)
3.On a seasonally adjusted basis, the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) was unchanged in February, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported. Over the last 12 months, the index increased 2.1 percent before seasonal adjustment.
http://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/cpi.pdf (Bureau of Labor Statistics)
Trade Deficit
1. Anyone involved with trade would be interested in trade deficit. It would particularly affect the people inside the country which is importing more than it is exporting, as it will decrease net exports and therefore decrease the country's GDP.
2. Trade deficit is calculated at least monthly by the US government.
3. The US international trade deficit decreased to $37.3 billion in January from $39.9 billion in December, as imports decreased more than exports.
Michigan's Resident Population
1. There are a number of groups that are interested in Michigan’s resident population. Within government the statistic is of interest because it determines the number of representatives Michigan receives in Congress, the tax revenue for the state, and the amount of services that must be provided (education, welfare, healthcare, etc). The population count also provides a base number for the government and other groups to use in determining other important statistics. For instance, the overall population must be known before the percent unemployed or per capita income can be determined.
The population of Michigan is also of interest to businesses and interest groups. Knowing how many people live in the Michigan can determine the quantity of advertising companies decide to place in the state, in addition to the final allocation of products or services to the area. For example, a housing development company will be much more inclined to build in Michigan if the population is growing rather than shrinking.
2. The official count of Michigan’s population is determined by the U.S. Census Bureau every ten years in compliance with the Constitution. In the interim, the Census Bureau makes estimates of the population size. According to their website, “Existing data series such as births, deaths, and domestic and international immigration, are used to update the decennial census base counts.”
3. The most recent estimate puts the Michigan resident population at 10,003,422. This represents a 0.7% increase since the last hard count in 2000, which put the Michigan population at 9,938,492. The United States, by comparison, was estimated to have a population of 304,059,724 in 2008 and a much faster rate of growth. According to the Census Bureau, U.S. had a population of 281,424,602 in 2000. This represents an 8% population increase between 2000 and 2008.
The population of Michigan is also of interest to businesses and interest groups. Knowing how many people live in the Michigan can determine the quantity of advertising companies decide to place in the state, in addition to the final allocation of products or services to the area. For example, a housing development company will be much more inclined to build in Michigan if the population is growing rather than shrinking.
2. The official count of Michigan’s population is determined by the U.S. Census Bureau every ten years in compliance with the Constitution. In the interim, the Census Bureau makes estimates of the population size. According to their website, “Existing data series such as births, deaths, and domestic and international immigration, are used to update the decennial census base counts.”
3. The most recent estimate puts the Michigan resident population at 10,003,422. This represents a 0.7% increase since the last hard count in 2000, which put the Michigan population at 9,938,492. The United States, by comparison, was estimated to have a population of 304,059,724 in 2008 and a much faster rate of growth. According to the Census Bureau, U.S. had a population of 281,424,602 in 2000. This represents an 8% population increase between 2000 and 2008.
U.S. Census Bureau. 23 February 2010. “Michigan Quickfacts.” http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/26000.html.
U.S. Productivity
1. Employers would want to know this statistic so that they can gauge if they will need to hire more workers. Economists and policy makers would be interested in this statistic because it often has a negative correlation with employment. As productivity goes up, businesses often find that they can do the same amount of work with fewer employees.
2. This statistic is collected by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). It is collected quarterly by calculating factors such as payroll numbers and gross output.
3. U.S. Labor Productivity grew in Q4 2009 at a rate of 6.9%. This is compared to historical average of 3-4%.
http://www.bls.gov/lpc/home.htm
Consumer Confidence Statistics
Consumer confidence is defined to be the degree of trust that a consumer feels about the overall state of their economy, as well as their own personal financial situation. Consumer confidence is a main deciding factor in spending activity.
- Among those interested in consumer confidence would be virtually all business owners that desire to know the spending activity of the consumers in their field, political candidates who want to adhere to the trust issues of his or her people, government policy makers, and economists who look for trending patterns and attempt to create foundations for economic structures.
- The Conference Board is a non-profit organization that makes economics-based forecasts, assesses trends, and facilitates learning by creating dynamic communities of interest in order to bestow knowledge about management and the marketplace to help businesses strengthen their performance and better serve society. Every month, The Conference Board collects statistics from 5,000 households.
- In March, The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index increased to 52.5, which is a rebound from a drop down to 46.4 in February. Consumers' confidence is dependent on their concern about current business and labor market conditions. Currently, consumer confidence levels continue to be pessimistic and have stayed relatively consistent from last year at this time.
The following links were used as reference:
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