Papers
This page provides access to papers and presentations prepared by BEA staff. Abstracts are presented in HTML format; complete papers are in PDF format with selected tables in XLS format. The views expressed in these papers are solely those of the authors and not necessarily those of the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis or the U.S. Department of Commerce.
Comparing Price Measures—The CPI and PCE Price Index
The Response of Prices, Sales, and Output to Temporary Changes in Demand
We determine empirically how the Big Three automakers accommodate shocks to demand. They have the capability to change prices, alter labor inputs through temporary layoffs and overtime, or adjust inventories. These adjustments are interrelated, non-convex, and dynamic in nature. Combining weekly… Read more
The Feasibility of Producing Personal Income to Adjusted Gross Income (PI-AGI) Reconciliations by State
This paper studied the feasibility of reconciling BEA state personal income (SPI) and IRS adjusted gross income (AGI) at the state level. After reviewing data sources from BEA, IRS, and other agencies, it was concluded that it is feasible to prepare accurate reconciliations of state level wages… Read more
Globalization, Offshoring, and Multinational Companies: What Are the Questions, and How Well Are We Doing in Answering Them?
This paper identifies key questions that are being asked about globalization and MNC’s and then reviews the types of statistics that are required to answer those questions. The paper goes on to assess whether the statistics collected by the Bureau of Economic Analysis are adequate to address… Read more
Accounting for Nonmarket Production: A Prototype Satellite Account Using the American Time Use Survey
Evaluating and Adjusting for Chain Drift in National Economic Accounts
Chain drift is the difference between the rate of change calculated by chaining an index over a multi period interval and that obtained using endpoints only. More generally, different linking intervals yield different estimates. In this paper, procedures are suggested for evaluating the severity… Read more
Chain Drift in Leading Superlative Indexes
Chain drift is the difference between the rate of change calculated by chaining an index over a multi period interval and that obtained using endpoints only. This intransitivity can produce ambiguity in estimated growth rates if the “correct” linking interval is not known. The present paper… Read more
Report on Interarea Price Levels
This report describes the estimation of differences in price levels across 38 geographic areas in the United States. It is based on prices collected for the 2003 Consumer Price Index (CPI) comprising eight expenditure components: Apparel, Education, Food and Beverages, Housing, Medical Goods and… Read more
Importance of Data Sharing to BEA
Why Are Semiconductor Price Indexes Falling So Fast?: Industry Estimates and Implications for Productivity Measurement
By any measure, price deflators for semiconductors fell at a staggering pace over much of the last decade, pulled down by steep declines in the deflator for the microprocessor (MPU) segment. These rapid price declines are typically attributed to technological innovations that lower constant-… Read more