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Forecasting Manufacturing Output Growth Using Firm‐Level Survey Data

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  • JAMES MITCHELL
  • RICHARD J. SMITH
  • MARTIN R. WEALE

Abstract

Traditionally forecasts of macroeconomic aggregates are extracted from prospective qualitative survey data by relating official data on the aggregate to both the proportion of survey respondents who are ‘optimists’ and the proportion who are ‘pessimists’. But there is no reason to focus on these proportions to the exclusion of other possible means of aggregating and quantifying the underlying panel of respondent or firm‐level survey responses. Accordingly in this paper we show how the panel of firm‐level responses underlying these proportions can be exploited to derive forecasts of (aggregate) manufacturing output growth that do not lose information that may be contained in the pattern of individual responses. An application using firm‐level prospective survey data from the Confederation of British Industry shows that the forecasts of manufacturing output growth derived using these ‘disaggregate’ methods mark an improvement over the so‐called ‘aggregate’ methods based on use of the proportions data alone.

Suggested Citation

  • James Mitchell & Richard J. Smith & Martin R. Weale, 2005. "Forecasting Manufacturing Output Growth Using Firm‐Level Survey Data," Manchester School, University of Manchester, vol. 73(4), pages 479-499, July.
  • Handle: RePEc:bla:manchs:v:73:y:2005:i:4:p:479-499
    DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-9957.2005.00455.x
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Driver, Ciaran & Muñoz-Bugarin, Jair, 2019. "Financial constraints on investment: Effects of firm size and the financial crisis," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 47(C), pages 441-457.
    2. Oscar Claveria & Enric Monte & Salvador Torra, 2018. "“Tracking economic growth by evolving expectations via genetic programming: A two-step approach”," IREA Working Papers 201801, University of Barcelona, Research Institute of Applied Economics, revised Jan 2018.
    3. Lui, Silvia & Mitchell, James & Weale, Martin, 2011. "The utility of expectational data: Firm-level evidence using matched qualitative-quantitative UK surveys," International Journal of Forecasting, Elsevier, vol. 27(4), pages 1128-1146, October.
    4. James Mitchell & Richard J. Smith & Martin R. Weale, 2013. "Efficient Aggregation Of Panel Qualitative Survey Data," Journal of Applied Econometrics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 28(4), pages 580-603, June.
    5. Troy D. Matheson & James Mitchell & Brian Silverstone, 2010. "Nowcasting and predicting data revisions using panel survey data," Journal of Forecasting, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 29(3), pages 313-330.
    6. Lahiri, Kajal & Zhao, Yongchen, 2015. "Quantifying survey expectations: A critical review and generalization of the Carlson–Parkin method," International Journal of Forecasting, Elsevier, vol. 31(1), pages 51-62.
    7. Oscar Claveria & Enric Monte & Salvador Torra, 2015. "“Self-organizing map analysis of agents’ expectations. Different patterns of anticipation of the 2008 financial crisis”," AQR Working Papers 201508, University of Barcelona, Regional Quantitative Analysis Group, revised Mar 2015.
    8. Silvia Lui & James Mitchell & Martin Weale, 2011. "Qualitative business surveys: signal or noise?," Journal of the Royal Statistical Society Series A, Royal Statistical Society, vol. 174(2), pages 327-348, April.
    9. Troy Matheson & James Mitchell & Brian Silverstone, 2007. "Nowcasting and predicting data revisions in real time using qualitative panel survey data," Reserve Bank of New Zealand Discussion Paper Series DP2007/02, Reserve Bank of New Zealand.
    10. Breitung, Jörg & Schmeling, Maik, 2013. "Quantifying survey expectations: What’s wrong with the probability approach?," International Journal of Forecasting, Elsevier, vol. 29(1), pages 142-154.
    11. Oscar Claveria & Enric Monte & Salvador Torra, 2019. "Evolutionary Computation for Macroeconomic Forecasting," Computational Economics, Springer;Society for Computational Economics, vol. 53(2), pages 833-849, February.
    12. Guizzardi, Andrea & Stacchini, Annalisa, 2015. "Real-time forecasting regional tourism with business sentiment surveys," Tourism Management, Elsevier, vol. 47(C), pages 213-223.
    13. Maurizio Bovi, 2006. "Consumers Sentiment and Cognitive Macroeconometrics Paradoxes and Explanations," ISAE Working Papers 66, ISTAT - Italian National Institute of Statistics - (Rome, ITALY).
    14. Olivier Biau & Hélène Erkel-Rousse & Nicolas Ferrari, 2006. "Réponses individuelles aux enquêtes de conjoncture et prévision de la production manufacturière," Économie et Statistique, Programme National Persée, vol. 395(1), pages 91-116.
    15. Kajal Lahiri & Yongchen Zhao, 2013. "Quantifying Heterogeneous Survey Expectations: The Carlson-Parkin Method Revisited," Discussion Papers 13-08, University at Albany, SUNY, Department of Economics.
    16. Ciaran Driver, 2019. "Trade liberalization and South African manufacturing: Looking back with data," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2019-30, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    17. Sorić, Petar & Lolić, Ivana & Claveria, Oscar & Monte, Enric & Torra, Salvador, 2019. "Unemployment expectations: A socio-demographic analysis of the effect of news," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 60(C), pages 64-74.
    18. François Hild, 2006. "Un nouvel indicateur synthétique prenant en compte la dynamique des réponses individuelles à l'enquête Industrie," Économie et Statistique, Programme National Persée, vol. 395(1), pages 65-89.
    19. Oscar Claveria & Enric Monte & Salvador Torra, 2017. "“Let the data do the talking: Empirical modelling of survey-based expectations by means of genetic programming”," AQR Working Papers 201706, University of Barcelona, Regional Quantitative Analysis Group, revised May 2017.
    20. Oscar Claveria & Enric Monte & Salvador Torra, 2018. "A Data-Driven Approach to Construct Survey-Based Indicators by Means of Evolutionary Algorithms," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 135(1), pages 1-14, January.
    21. David Bywaters & Gareth Thomas, 2008. "Output Expectations and Forecasting of UK Manufacturing," Atlantic Economic Journal, Springer;International Atlantic Economic Society, vol. 36(2), pages 125-137, June.
    22. Dr Martin Weale & Dr. James Mitchell, 2006. "A Bayesian Indicator of Manufacturing Output from Qualitative Business Panel Survey Data," National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR) Discussion Papers 261, National Institute of Economic and Social Research.

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