Working Paper: NBER ID: w16617
Authors: Haelim M. Park; Gary Richardson
Abstract: Soon after beginning operations, the Federal Reserve established a nationwide network for collecting information about the economy. In 1919, the Fed began tabulating data by about retail sales, which it viewed as a fundamental measure of consumption. From 1920 until 1929, the Federal Reserve published data about retail sales each month by Federal Reserve district, but ceased to do so after 1929. It continued to compile monthly data on retail sales by reserve district, but this data remained in house. We collected these in-house reports from the archives of the Board of Governors and constructed a consistent series on retail trade at the district level. The new series enhances our understanding of economic trends during the Roaring „20s and Great Depression.
Keywords: Retail Trade; Federal Reserve; Economic History; Statistical Series
JEL Codes: E01; E21; N0; N1; N3; N32; N92; R11; Y1
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| retail trade patterns (L81) | economic conditions (E66) |
| retail sales increase (L81) | economic expansions (E32) |
| retail sales decrease (L81) | economic contractions (E32) |
| retail trade (L81) | industrial production (L69) |
| retail trade patterns (L81) | understanding of economic conditions (E66) |