Interpreting the economy

Almost every day, new economic information is made
available to us through the newspapers and other
media. From this data the government is praised or
criticized by politicians, fortunes are made or lost on
the stock market, business decisions are made and
union officials try to predict the financial future for
their members.

Interpreting the Economy describes the indicators and
shows how they should be interpreted and can be
manipulated. It discusses how we can all learn to
isolate what is important, cut through the packaging,
tell the difference between irrelevant blips and
significant trends, and thus gain genuine insight into
what is happening - and is likely to happen - in the
real world.

'This is an excellent account of the key macro-
economic indicators that underpin economic
management and monetary policy. I recommend it to
anyone that needs to understand what the statistics
measure and how they may be interpreted'
Tim Holt,
Head of the Government Statistical Service

'Figures, figures everywhere, nor one to help us think.
Statistics are thrown at us everyday in newspapers
and on television. But how should we interpret them?
Simon Briscoe's book is an invaluable guide to helping
us think about the meaning of all these figures'
Mervyn King, Deputy Governor, Bank of England