Do Google Searches Help in Nowcasting Private Consumption?: A Real-Time Evidence for the US
Abstract
In this paper, we investigate whether the Google search activity can help in nowcasting the year-on-year growth rates of monthly US private consumption using a real-time data set. The Google-based forecasts are compared to those based on a benchmark AR(1) model and the models including the consumer surveys and financial indicators. According to the Diebold-Mariano test of equal predictive ability, the null hypothesis can be rejected suggesting that Google-based forecasts are significantly more accurate than those of the benchmark model. At the same time, the corresponding null hypothesis cannot be rejected for models with consumer surveys and financial variables. Moreover, when we apply the test of superior predictive ability (Hansen, 2005) that controls for possible data-snooping biases, we are able to reject the null hypothesis that the benchmark model is not inferior to any alternative model forecasts. Furthermore, the results of the model confidence set (MCS) procedure (Hansen et al., 2005) suggest that the autoregressive benchmark is not selected into a set of the best forecasting models. Apart from several Google-based models, the MCS contains also some models including survey-based indicators and financial variables. We conclude that Google searches do help improving the nowcasts of the private consumption in US.Download Info
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Paper provided by DIW Berlin, German Institute for Economic Research in its series Discussion Papers of DIW Berlin with number 997.Length: 27 p.
Date of creation: 2010
Date of revision:
Handle: RePEc:diw:diwwpp:dp997
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Related research
Keywords: Google indicators; real-time nowcasting; principal components; US private consumption;Other versions of this item:
- Konstantin A. Kholodilin & Maximilian Podstawski & Boriss Siliverstovs, 2010. "Do Google Searches Help in Nowcasting Private Consumption? A Real-Time Evidence for the US," KOF Working papers 10-256, KOF Swiss Economic Institute, ETH Zurich.
- C22 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Single Equation Models; Single Variables - - - Time-Series Models; Dynamic Quantile Regressions; Dynamic Treatment Effect Models
- C53 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Econometric Modeling - - - Forecasting and Prediction Models; Simulation Methods
- C82 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Data Collection and Data Estimation Methodology; Computer Programs - - - Methodology for Collecting, Estimating, and Organizing Macroeconomic Data
This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:
- NEP-ALL-2010-05-08 (All new papers)
- NEP-FOR-2010-05-08 (Forecasting)
- NEP-MIC-2010-05-08 (Microeconomics)
References
References listed on IDEASPlease report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:
- Francesco D’Amuri & Juri Marcucci, 2010.
"“Google it!”Forecasting the US Unemployment Rate with a Google Job Search index,"
Working Papers
2010.31, Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei.
- D'Amuri, Francesco/FD & Marcucci, Juri/JM, 2009. ""Google it!" Forecasting the US unemployment rate with a Google job search index," MPRA Paper 18248, University Library of Munich, Germany.
Citations
Blog mentions
As found by EconAcademics.org, the blog aggregator for Economics research:- Nowcasting consumption with Google
by Adam Ozimek in Modeled Behavior on 2010-06-07 11:26:11
Cited by:
- Rose, Andrew K & Spiegel, Mark, 2011.
"Dollar Illiquidity and Central Bank Swap Arrangements During the Global Financial Crisis,"
CEPR Discussion Papers
8557, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
- Rose, Andrew K. & Spiegel, Mark M., 2012. "Dollar illiquidity and central bank swap arrangements during the global financial crisis," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 88(2), pages 326-340.
- Andrew K. Rose & Mark M. Spiegel, 2011. "Dollar Illiquidity and Central Bank Swap Arrangements During the Global Financial Crisis," NBER Working Papers 17359, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
- Andrew K. Rose & Mark M. Spiegel, 2011. "Dollar illiquidity and central bank swap arrangements during the global financial crisis," Working Paper Series 2011-18, Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco.
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