Massey project produces GDP and inflation indicators in real time

Massey University’s Christoph Schumacher and colleagues have devised real-time GDP and inflation trackers. (Image: Massey University)

Jenny Ruth

Mon, 21 Nov 2022

Running monetary policy has been compared with trying to drive a car while only being able to see through the rear-view mirror.That’s because economic data is always published with a lag. We get inflation for any given quarter about two weeks after the quarter ends, while GDP data takes two-and-a-half months after the end of the quarter before Statistics NZ publishes it.That lag in getting data is one reason why the Reserve Bank finds itself in its current predicament of the consumers price index (CPI) running at an annual 7.2% pace when...

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