Lecture series
Reading economic indicators: inflation, growth, the external balance
How to read the economic statistics that shape lending: who produces them and to what standards, inflation and real interest rates, growth and GDP, the external balance and reserves, and how to read them together, with dated examples from Southeast Asia set against other regions. Five lessons.
3 of 5 lessons published. Lesson 1 is free to read.
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- 01Where economic indicators come from: producers, standards and release calendarsAn economic indicator is only as useful as the reader's knowledge of who made it, how and when. This lesson explains who produces the main indicators, the international principles and data standards they follow, how statistical systems in East Asia and the Pacific compare with other regions, and how to read a release, including what happens when a first estimate is revised.
- 02Inflation: price indices, core measures and real interest ratesInflation decides what an interest rate is worth. This lesson explains which price indices measure inflation and what each covers, how core and underlying measures look past volatile prices, how to turn a nominal interest rate into a real one, and how inflation in East Asia and the Pacific compared with other regions, using the World Bank's regional series.
- 03Growth: GDP, real and nominal, and how to read quarterly ratesGrowth figures move budgets and credit policy, but the same quarter can be reported as three different numbers. This lesson explains what gross domestic product measures and leaves out, how real growth is separated from price changes, the three common ways of stating quarterly growth and how to convert between them, and how to compare growth across regions with the World Bank's aggregates.
- 04The external balance: current account, reserves and external debt
- 05Reading indicators together: what a lender watches
Quiz and certificate 7 questions; those on lesson 1 are free to try. Read every published lesson and score 80% or more for a certificate of completion.
Take the quizSoutheast Asia financial indicators →Calendar: meetings, policy decisions and data releases →Policy rates and monetary frameworks →Household finances: prices, rates and wages, and what borrowers can repay (course) →All courses →