Federal Reserve Board publishes paper reviewing economic measurement innovation in its Research and Statistics Division

The Federal Reserve Board published a research paper, “Beyond the Streetlight: Economic Measurement in the Division of Research and Statistics at the Federal Reserve,” reviewing how its Division of Research and Statistics (R&S) has developed data and analytical methods to support the Board’s mission. Written for an academic conference marking the 100th anniversary of R&S, the paper describes the division as a “factory” for producing evidence on the structure and state of the economy and argues that its measurement research has often moved beyond prevailing conventions since the division’s earliest days. The review is presented as indicative rather than a complete history, with selected examples spanning data collection and estimation strategies, business cycles, productivity and price measurement, financial accounts and financial data, the Survey of Consumer Finances, and blended data.