(Click on the cover image to explore the book!)
Preface
Welcome to A Practical Guide to Macroeconomic Data with R!
We wrote this book for economic or financial analysts that need the data science tools to study the macroeconomy and financial markets. In our current information age we have access to a plethora of macroeconomic data and powerful open-source software, and in this book we bridge the gap so we can use both—data and software—to generate insights about the economy. Further, many readers will be familiar with the phrase a picture is worth a thousand words, we firmly agree with it and this is why we put an emphasis on visualizations as a way to communicate our insights. Our main goal is to develop skills in a transparent and reproducible way so that by the book’s end the reader can hit the ground running and carry out their own original analyses.
This book came about after countless conversations with mentors and colleagues, from whom we have learned so much. As well as numerous lectures to undergraduate and graduate students, whose feedback has been invaluable. To all of them our heartfelt gratitude.
We also thank Kosha Bheda for the fantastic cover design!
We greatly appreciate any feedback that you may have on the book. We plan to revise the book regularly by incorporating reader feedback. Let us know if you would like to see any additional macroeconomic indicators included in the book or if you have any other feedback on the exposition, code, or any other aspect of the book. Your input is valuable to us. We will acknowledge readers who have given significant constructive feedback in the next version of the book. You can send feedback to the following email addresses:
- For the Python version of the book, email: macro-python@quantseer.com
- For the R version of the book, email: macro-r@quantseer.com
