Related Web Links – Module 2 - Introduction to Macroeconomics

Students will find a number of sites useful throughout the macroeconomic chapters that relate to standard measures of U.S. economic activity and performance.

The following site provides current and historical data on the consumer price index (CPI aka inflation) and unemployment (by many different demographics).

Go to: http://www.bls.gov/

The following site has data on GDP and its components in both quarterly and annual formats dating back to 1929, as well as interactive tables and many other useful tools.

Go to: http://www.bea.gov/

Inflation as a measure of macroeconomic well-being is also briefly mentioned as an introduction to macroeconomic measures that economists, policy-makers, and businesses use frequently.  See: http://www.minneapolisfed.org/?year=1990&dollarAmount=20000&yearto=2009&result=+26159.51.

Visit the inflation calculator web site.  Go to: http://data.bls.gov/cgi-bin/cpicalc.pl.

The OECD provides excellent macroeconomic data on member countries at the following site: http://stats.oecd.org/Index.aspx.

Among many other items, articles and data, the NBER provides (and defines) business cycles: http://wwwdev.nber.org/cycles/cyclesmain.html.