Handbook of Economic Indicators

David Robinson is an economics professor at Laurentian University.

The economist’s recipe for predicting the future calls for one cup of
theory, two cups of history, and, if you want to sell your wares, three
cups of current information. This book explains where to get data about
the past and the most important “indicators” of change. It also
provides a good introduction to the structure of the Canadian economy.
The book makes no forecasts, and doesn’t show how forecasting is
actually done, but it does much more than just tell us where the numbers
come from.

The backbone of the book is a description of 62 indicators for Canada
and the United States. An indicator is a number that summarizes the
state of some economic process. By studying the changes in price levels,
construction starts, or trade flows, a forecaster can obtain clues about
where the economy is going. For each indicator, Grant gives source and
timing, a moderately technical description, and sometimes an assessment
of significance and limitations.

Chapters 1 to 5 discuss forecasting, the national accounts, public
policy, the provincial economies, and Canada in the international
framework. The reading is sometimes a bit heavy for general readers, but
these chapters provide a solid introduction to the workings of the
economy. The final chapter is an insightful but too brief view of the
forecaster in the worldwide information web.

Grant’s book began as a handbook for internal use at Wood Gundy. It
has developed into a valuable general-purpose introduction to the
structure of the Canadian economy.