Some guidance for the use of Big Data in macroeconomic nowcasting

Abstract

[EN] This paper develops an operational step by step approach aiming to facilitate the use of Big Data in nowcasting exercises. Each step includes a description of the problem and a set of recommendations addressing the most relevant available solution. The approach includes nine steps starting from the theoretical availability of Big Data until the publication of new nowcasting including also Big Data. In designing this operational step by step approach, the preliminary results of an ongoing Eurostat project on Big Data and macroeconomic nowcasting have been used as a starting point. Further elaboration has been carried out in order to make the operational step by step approach more concrete and prescriptive. Its aim is to provide a concrete help for experts involved in the construction of nowcasting especially in the judgment about the usefulness of the presence of Big Data in their models. It also provides guidance related to the dissemination of new nowcasting based also on Big Data.