The U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis offers a wealth of information on the state of the U.S. economy, but the agency’s director, Brian Moyer, thinks there’s always room for improvement.
“I think we can do a better job of presenting this information,” Moyer told the Economic Roundtable of Jacksonville at a luncheon meeting Tuesday.
The BEA is a non-partisan agency of the U.S. Commerce Department that compiles data on the economy. It is used by the government and private industry to assist in their economic analysis.
“Some people call us the mineshaft canaries of the statistical system,” Moyer said.
The BEA is probably best known for its quarterly reports on the nation’s gross domestic product, the most commonly used measure of the overall economy.
“This is what defines the bureau,” Moyer said.
However, as Moyer explained during his talk at the Jacksonville branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, the BEA will be putting out new reports this year that will enable analysts to get a more detailed look at the state of the economy.
“2015 is a banner year for BEA. There are a lot of new products coming out,” he said.
The new products include more specific measures of GDP that will be available on a more timely basis than in the past. The agency will be issuing quarterly reports on GDP by industry sectors this year that will be available about four months after the end of each quarter, and possibly even quicker.
“Going forward, we’re trying to accelerate this even further,” Moyer said.
The BEA will also be issuing quarterly reports on GDP by the state, which should be available six to seven months after the end of the quarter. Those reports will include data on 22 industries within each state. That will give analysts an opportunity to see economic shifts within a state.
Besides GDP data, the BEA is also providing a new look at health care spending this year. The agency had been relying on data from health care providers, but now it is using data from insurance claims to track spending on different diseases and conditions.
“It gives us a fresh look at health care spending that is more accurate, more complete,” Moyer said.
The BEA is also compiling data on areas you may not expect, including a new annual report on the economic impact of arts and culture on the U.S. economy. Its first report, released in January, found that arts produced nearly $700 billion in spending in 2012, or 4 percent of the total GDP.
In addition to new reports, the BEA is restoring some data it had discontinued in recent years because of budget cuts. That includes the Regional Input-Output Modeling System, or RIMS, which is used by local areas for regional impact studies.
“There was a lot of public outcry as the result of us eliminating this product,” Moyer said.
Moyer encourages members of the public to be proactive and let the BEA know what kind of information they need so the agency can be more responsive. That includes suggestions for redesigning the agency’s website, bea.gov, where users can find the data the agency produces.
“We try to be responsive to our users,” he said.
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