This site addresses a basic need I have encountered as an applied economist (see my bio on LinkedIn). In short, it should be easier to use economic data, from different sources, and across many purposes.
The ways to make this easier are relatively new and evolving. For example, data visualization solutions have gained traction only since about 2013, when Tableau went public. And it was not until 2015 that Microsoft responded with the launch of Power BI, which has changed significantly over time. (More here about rankings of these solutions.)
Most workplaces have been slow to adopt these solutions. My response has been to develop them here in my own workspace where I can draw on them for whatever role I might have. And I am sharing my outputs publicly with only one condition: If you use my content, become a registered user (SIGN-UP HERE.).
Please note that the information on this website represents my own personal perspectives. This site does not reflect the views of any organization I am affiliated with currently or previously.
If you would like to contact me, please do so at: frankbadillo@macrosavvy.com.
GDP, jobs, prices, retail, and e-commerce sales are tracked as key measures of the economy in this data dashboard — and updated as reported by government sources. More specifically, the breakouts by measure include: GDP: Consumer spending, investment, government spending, exports...
The belief in an inflation-unemployment trade-off is ingrained in macroeconomics, financial markets, and media. The trade-off is often expressed in various ways: Markets fear that if the unemployment rate gets too low, then inflation will rise. Macroeconomics has asserted that allowing...
Wages of U.S. workers—adjusted for inflation—have finally eclipsed the peak reached in 1972. The 1972 peak was eclipsed in 2020 partly because of the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. Business boosted wages in the face of higher employee risks, with wages...
Volatility is one of the characteristics of holiday retail sales—with the focus here on stores that sell gift-type goods. These stores, in other words, exclude car dealers, gas stations, restaurants, food, and drug stores. More specifically, the graphic below shows that:...
The threat of price inflation remains historically low compared with other periods over the more than 70 years that U.S consumer prices have been tracked. This is true based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI) as well as the Personal Consumption...
Economic hard times often draw comparisons to the Great Depression, but the pandemic-induced recession of 2020 may be the first to truly merit the comparison—at least based on measures of GDP. The economic downturn in 2020 is the first to approach...
Today we call it confidence or sentiment. It has also been famously described as “animal spirits” and more recently tied to matters of “trust” and “fairness” in the economy.¹·² Whatever you call it, there are psychological or behavioral factors that affect...