Getting the balance right – how ONS creates a single estimate of GDP

Categories: Economy, ONS

After 70 years of production Gross Domestic Product (GDP) remains the single most closely watched economic indicator. The success  of government economic policy is judged against it and it’s the yardstick for the scale of public spending and debt.  As Rob Kent-Smith explains, calculating GDP requires the informed balancing of sometimes contradictory data sources.     

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Measuring inflation: how ONS keeps track of changing spending habits

Categories: ONS

The updating of the legendary ‘basket of goods’ used by ONS to calculate inflation is a popular annual ritual. The products and services newly included – and those consigned to the statistical dustbin – tell the story of our changing consumption habits. But how accurate can the inflation figures be if you never buy  any of these items?  Phil Gooding explains.     

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A new way of looking at changing household incomes and prices

Categories: Economy, ONS

In February 2017 ONS funded the establishment of a new independent research centre, the Economic Statistics Centre of Excellence (ESCoE). Its objective is to bring economic research closer to the production of economic statistics and identify new ways to address the fast-paced changes observed in the UK economy. Richard Heys explains. 

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