Economists always have relied on trade group and business surveys to build data sets. More and more, they also are turning to newer, web-based sources of information. This time, reworking GDP “took several years of research with a lot of private and public data sources,” Kornfeld said. “It was a major research challenge.”
For movies, the revisions will reflect Hollywood’s output starting in 1929, when “Gold Diggers of Broadway” appeared in color and was a top box-office draw.
“The movie industry is not exactly a new industry,” said Michael Shaoul, chairman of New York-based Marketfield Asset Management. “It’s ludicrous that this wasn’t part of GDP in the first place.”
Gauging Innovation
Government statistics are often slow to keep pace with changing technology, Shaoul said. One reason the early 1990s looked weaker than they were, he said, was because economic data didn’t reflect what was happening with the Internet.
“Government statistics don’t pick up innovation, and this revision is a reminder of that,” Shaoul said.
Existing data sources also are adapting to changing reality. For example, music sales these days are driven by products such as ringtones and Internet services like Spotify and YouTube, which the Recording Industry Association of America didn’t include in annual revenue statistics until last year.
“These new data sources will become more common, will allow for better, almost real-time readings of the economy than we’ve ever had before,” said David Berson, chief economist at Nationwide Insurance in Columbus, Ohio. “Ten years ago, 20 years ago, they didn’t have the Internet tools to find these things.”
Seinfeld Effect
In television, economists are buzzing about the Seinfeld effect on GDP. The cost of making sitcoms and dramas will be considered investments under the new system because those shows retain value long after they’ve originally aired through reruns and syndication. Reality shows, soap operas, news and sporting events won’t get the same treatment.