The Conference Board

 


Total Economy Database

The Conference Board & Groningen Growth and Development Centre

All series derived from this database need to be cited as:
"The Conference Board and Groningen Growth and Development Centre, Total Economy Database, September 2008, http://www.conference-board.org/economics"

*THESE DATA ARE FOR ANALYSIS PURPOSES ONLY. NOT FOR REDISTRIBUTION, PUBLISHING, DATABASING, OR PUBLIC POSTING WITHOUT EXPRESS WRITTEN PERMISSION.

The Total Economy Database on Output and Labor Productivity is a comprehensive database with annual numbers of GDP, population, employment, hours and productivity for about 125 countries in the world.

Downloadable files:

Data Sources and Methods Latest Update
Summary Statistics Description of Main Variables September 2008
Total Economy Database Detailed Sources (in Acrobat Reader) September 2008
Flat file in txt format   September 2008

Since the late 1990s this database has been developed and maintained in conjunction with the Groningen Growth and Development Centre (University of Groningen, The Netherlands). As of the summer of 2007 the database has been transferred from the University of Groningen to The Conference Board and is maintained here. The Total Economy database is used by The Conference Board in its Executive Action series and (with a more detailed discussion) in Performance reports. The series are also used by the International Labour Office for their Key Indicators of the Labour Market, Chapter 18.

The Total Economy Database consists of series on

Main Variables

for at most 125 countries from 1950 onwards. These countries represent about 96.2 percent of the world population and, as smaller and poorer countries in particular are not yet included in the database, the sample represents an even larger share of the world GDP (99%).

The database with all countries and variables can be downloaded as one Excel file or as a (tab-delimited) "flat file" in txt format with all variables, years and countries on one sheet, which can be used for loading data into statistical programs.

The Conference Board and GGDC publishes two updates of the Total Economy Database annually: one in January which includes preliminary estimates for the latest year, and one in August/September with revisions from national statistical institutes for the most recent years. In comparison with the January 2008 version, the September 2008 version includes more definite figures for 2007, as well as benchmark revisions received from various sources, and extends the numbers for non-OECD countries to include 2007. For this release we chose not to implement the Purchasing Power Parities from the World Bank's 2005 International Comparison Program to allow for a more thorough inspection of how it would affect GDP levels measured in 2007 US dollars.

A detailed description of differences with the January 2008 version is available here. Differences with previous versions have been stored in the Total Economy Database archive.

Series on capital stock and total factor productivity for a large range of OECD countries can be obtained from the GGDC Total Economy Growth Accounting Database and the EU KLEMS database.

Sources Total Economy Database

GDP

Series on real gross domestic product in both constant 1990 and current 2007 US dollars are presently available for 125 countries. Series are expressed in market prices and cover the period 1950-2007 for all countries.

For each country detailed source descriptions are provided above, but in general the following sources were used for the trends in real GDP. From 1990 onwards, series for OECD countries are mostly derived from the most recent editions of OECD National Accounts. For East European countries, we made extensively use of published data from the Vienna Institute for Comparative Economic Studies (WIIW) and from United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE). As the Eurostat New Cronos Database in some cases contains more recent information than the sources mentioned above, this database was used instead. For many Asian countries data are obtained from the Asian Development Bank, Key Indicators of Developing Asian and Pacific Countries 2008 and the Asian Development Outlook, 2008. Latin American data stems mostly from the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC). African and Middle East countries were taken from the World Economic Outlook Database (April 2008) of the International Monetary Fund. Series up to 1990 are mostly derived from Maddison, A. (2007), Historical Statistics for the World Economy: 1-2003 AD.

For OECD countries, other (candidate) European Union member countries and Israel, GDP levels are measured in 2007 US dollars, for which 2005 EKS purchasing power parities updated with aggregate deflators to 2007 have been used. These 2005 PPPs are obtained from OECD, Purchasing Power Parities 2005, (Paris), November 2007 and can be downloaded here.

For all countries the series are expressed in 1990 US dollars converted at "Geary-Khamis" purchasing power parities (PPPs). The 1990 US dollar estimates are in almost all cases derived from Maddison, A. (2007), Historical Statistics for the World Economy: 1-2003 AD. To extend the GDP series to the period before 1950, these series can be linked to Maddisons historical series, which often go back to the 19th century and in some cases even further back.

Population

For each country individual source descriptions are given above, but in general the following sources were used. Up to 1990 the trends are mostly derived from Maddison, A. (2007), Historical Statistics for the World Economy: 1-2003 AD). Series from 1990 onwards are mostly derived from the US Census Bureau, International Data Base.

To extend the Population series to the period before 1950, these series can be linked to Maddisons historical series, which often go back to the 19th century and in some cases even further back.

Employment

Series on employment are presently available for 125 countries and cover the period 1950-2007 for all countries.

For most OECD countries total employment was obtained from the OECD National Accounts or OECD Labour Force Statistics. For 2007 we used OECD Economic Outlook, June 2008. For non-OECD East European countries, we made use of data from the Vienna Institute for Comparative Economic Studies (WIIW) and from United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE). The Eurostat New Cronos Database and the ILO LABORSTA database have also been used frequently for this region. For Asian and Latin American countries we used data from respectively the Asian Development Bank, GGDC Total Economy Growth Accounting Database (Manilla) and the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), extrapolated with series on labour force from World Bank World Development Indicators 2008.

Series for Africa and Middle East countries are not for employment but for labour force and were obtained from World Development Indicators 2008.

Hours

Series on hours actually worked per person employed per year are presently available for 43 countries and cover the period 1950-2007 for all countries. The estimates are intended to include paid overtime and exclude paid hours that are not worked due to sickness, vacation and holidays, etc.

Estimates of working hours involve serious measurement problems and international comparability is troublesome. Even for individual countries very different estimates can circulate, primarily because the numbers are obtained either from labour force surveys or from establishment surveys. An advantage of estimates based on labour force surveys is their comprehensive nature, i.e. all adjustment for overtime, sickness, etc. are included. A disadvantage, however, is that there seems to be a general tendency towards slight overestimation of hours actually worked. Figures based on establishment surveys are usually only for hours paid and may include overtime, and require further adjustments to account for various types of absence. The method for making such adjustments is described in A. Maddison (1980), "Monitoring the Labour Market: A Proposal for a Comprehensive Approach in Official Statistics", Review of Income and Wealth, June, pp. 175-217.

The estimates on a country-by-country basis were based on a judgment of which sources made the most appropriate adjustments to achieve the preferred concept of "actual hours worked per person employed". In some cases (e.g. Netherlands, United States, and Taiwan) national sources were used. For the United States we used a combination of unpublished total working hours from the BLS Productivity Database divided by smoothed employment series from the Current Population Survey. In other cases we relied on estimates from the OECD Growth Project, which are updated by S. Scarpetta, A. Bassanini, D. Pilat and P. Schreyer, "Economic Growth in the OECD Area: Recent Trends at the Aggregate and Sectoral Level", OECD Economic Department Working Papers No. 248, Table A.13. For the European countries the latter data set makes use of the number from the Eurostat Labour Force Survey, but with downward adjustment to account for overstating of hours actually worked. For later years the trend of the OECD Employment Outlook has been used.

For the pre-1980 period the trend in working hours per person employed was derived from the OECD Employment Outlook and subsequent studies by A. Maddison (1982, 1991 and 1995).

GDP per Capita

Series on real gross domestic product per capita in 2007 US dollars are available for 43 OECD and (candidate) EU member countries. Series in 1990 US dollars are presently available for 125 countries. Series are expressed in market prices and cover the period 1950-2007 for all countries.

To extend the GDP per capita series to the period before 1950, you can link these series to Maddison's historical series, which often go back to the 19th century and in some cases even further back.

GDP per person engaged

Series on real gross domestic product per person engaged in 2007 US dollars are available for 43 OECD and (candidate) EU member countries (and Israel). Series in 1990 US dollars are presently available for 125 countries. Series are expressed in market prices and cover the period 1950-2007 for all countries.

GDP per hour

Series on real gross domestic product per hour in 2007 US dollars are available for 43 OECD and (candidate) EU member countries (and Israel). Series in 1990 US dollars are presently available for 125 countries. Series are expressed in market prices and cover the period 1950-2007 for all countries.

Contact:

Mary Catherine Sinclair
Research Assistant
Domestic and International Research and Products
Phone: 1 212-339-0208
E-Mail: mary.catherine.sinclair@conference-board.org

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