The following figures are part of the ongoing work with Tatjana Dahlhaus (at the Bank of Canada) on improving monitoring tools in the times of crises, tentatively titled as "Unusual Times call for Unusual data: Small Samples and High-Frequency at Work."

The broad notion is that, as COVID-19 emphasized, there is a need for high-frequency data monitoring, particularly, in times of crises when there are rapid developments in the economy. However, many of the high-frequency data sources are unusual/unconventional in nature and have unknown statistical properties. Moreover, many of these alternative data sources have small samples, which make forecasting as well as inference difficult.

→ Abstract for current work

Below are figures summarizing the electricity consumption in three of the largest Canadian provinces as well as three of the larger US states. The data is gathered from Independent Service Operators (ISO).

Disclaimer: The material on this website does not necessarily reflect the views of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, the Federal Reserve System or the Bank of Canada.

Canada

Electricity Consumption and Real Activity (Employment)