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| Characteristics |
| Contact person OECD statistics contact: stat.contact@oecd.org |
| Scope |
| Statistical population The Main Economic Indicators (MEI) database contains monthly and quarterly statistics (and associated statistical methodological information) for the 30 OECD Member and for six non-member countries (Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Russian Federation and South Africa) on a wide variety of economic indicators, namely: quarterly national accounts, industrial production, composite leading indicators, business tendency and consumer opinion surveys, retail trade, consumer and producer prices, hourly earnings, employment/unemployment, interest rates, monetary aggregates, exchange rates, international trade and balance of payments. |
| Other Aspects |
| Recommended uses and limitations Indicators have been prepared by national statistical agencies primarily to meet the requirements of users within their own country. In most instances, the indicators are compiled in accordance with international statistical guidelines and recommendations. However, national practices may depart from these guidelines, and these departures may impact on comparability between countries. There is an on-going process of review and revise the contents of the database in order to maximise the relevance of the database for short-term economic analysis, for example, through the inclusion of new indicators reflecting new areas of analysis and policy making. The most recent developments are the following: finalisation of comparison of MEI and Eurostat's New Cronos databases. Recommendations from the comparison project that will entail the expanded use of Eurostat data will be implemented over 2005 and 2006; improvement in the quality of historical time series through the implementation of new linkage methodology; significant expansion of MEI database to include new business tendency (including services sector) and consumer opinion survey data in coordination with the European Commission. |