Director's Blog

A blog post from BEA Director Vipin Arora

My guess is that the standards and methods we use at BEA to put our statistics together are a bit different than people might expect. Understandably so—most people think about statistics in terms of surveys, so concepts like response rates, sample size, margin of error, and standard deviation are usually top of mind.

We do some of that. But most of our economic indicators are produced by bringing together data collected in assorted ways—surveys, scanner transactions, and more from a wide variety of data suppliers—within a rigorous economic accounting system. To quote former BEA Director Carol Carson, we “integrate and interpret a tremendous volume of data to draw a complete and consistent picture of the U.S. economy.’’

A blog post from BEA Director Vipin Arora

I’ve written in the past about how BEA’s supply and use tables are the unsung hero of economic accounting. They do a lot, including providing the framework for modern economic measurement and analysis. But did you know they are also central to understanding supply chains?

A blog post from BEA Director Vipin Arora

I’ve struggled over the years with some basic grammar (and I know I’m not the only one). It’s hard for me to remember what an adverb is, or to pick out a simile versus a metaphor. You can add treating the word data as plural to that list. Saying “the data are” instead of the “the data is” doesn’t sound right to me, even though I know that the singular usage has arisen only in recent years. And just like the categorization of data as singular or plural has evolved, so has the way data are treated in economic accounting.

A blog post from BEA Director Vipin Arora 

I’d bet most people have heard of global supply chains. But are you familiar with their fraternal twin, global value chains? I’m guessing not. BEA’s statistics on value chains are an underappreciated tool that can help policymakers and the public better understand supply chains.

A blog from BEA Director Vipin Arora

It’s widely recognized that BEA’s economic statistics are among the world’s most closely watched. That’s because our data about trade, consumer prices, and economic activity underpin decisions about interest rates and trade policy, taxes and spending, hiring and investing, and more. You might, however, be unaware that BEA data are also used in allocating hundreds of billions in federal funds to state and local governments each year. 

A blog post from BEA Director Vipin Arora

I wouldn’t imagine the phrase “data quality” stirs the imagination of many people. I get it. Artificial intelligence or big data—or even e-commerce, to take it back a few years—sound more exciting. Our team at BEA, however, gets fired up about data quality, especially improving data quality. That’s great, you might be thinking, but what exactly do you mean by data quality?

A blog post from BEA Director Vipin Arora

We use the word “granular” a lot at BEA. It’s not a term that comes up much in day-to-day conversation elsewhere. When I first started hearing it here regularly, I always pictured salt. As in granulated salt. That isn’t crazy—apparently granularity first entered the English language in the 17th century to describe texture. It’s slowly evolved to mean level of detail, which is how we use it at BEA when referring to statistics. For that reason, for me references to granularity now evoke images of BEA users who want more detailed data. And I’ve got good news to share on that front.

A blog post from BEA Director Vipin Arora 

Throughout our history, BEA’s statistics have been developed and used for many purposes. Whether to shed light on the flow of goods and services abroad; compare buying power from one metropolitan area to another; or highlight the income available for saving or spending—and  much, much more—our statistics are used by people all over the country. That includes data users interested in the nation’s security.

 A blog post from BEA Director Vipin Arora

Every month, Americans eagerly anticipate BEA’s GDP and personal income and outlays estimates. These statistics are essential for understanding, for instance, how fast our economy is growing, or how rapidly the incomes of people across the country are rising.

A blog post from BEA Director Vipin Arora 

Have you ever noticed how some things just go better together? Probably tops on my list are peanut butter and chocolate—neither one is the same without the other. But don’t forget about raisins and bran or watermelon and feta cheese (surprisingly better than it sounds).