Economic Commentary: How can central banks make best use of Big Data?

Date 04/12/2015

Data and statistics are a cornerstone of the Riksbank's work. In recent years, the supply of data has increased dramatically and this trend is set to continue as an ever-greater amount of activities are stored automatically in different ways. This data revolution, which has given rise to concepts such as Big Data, challenges traditional thinking while placing new demands on processing and analysis. New analytical methods for Big Data are developing rapidly and there are now several applications that are of interest to central banks. To remain at the cutting edge, the Riksbank is working on an information supply strategy to ensure that relevant data and statistics are available for the decisions taken both today and in the future.

 

The opportunities and challenges regarding Big Data were discussed at a workshop organised by the Riksbank at the beginning of September. The conclusions from the workshop are presented in this Economic Commentary.