A Survey of Recent Canadian Macro-Econometric Models and Usefulness of Canadian Data for Macro- and Micro-Econometric Model Building Compared with U.S. and Japanese Data

Since Timbergen's pioneering study published in 1939, various econometric models have been built in many countries in the world. The rate of production of econometric models has been increasing, particularly over the last decade. This trend is a product of the following developments: (i) statistical data on various levels of economic activities are more and more readily available; (ii)training in econometric techniques has been widely diffused and improved in undergraduate and graduate economics programs; and (iii) computer facilities are readily accessible, and many econometric estimation methods are now available as canned programs. In this paper, we take the position that the trend towards disaggregated macro models, industry models, and firm models is a useful phenomenon and will help us understand economic activities in a more systematic and logical way. Based on this viewpoint, we survey the current state of Canadian macro-econometric models in section II, and in section III we examine the usefulness of Canadian data for disaggregated macro models in comparison to U.S. and Japanese data. Also, in this section we briefly examine the data necessary for building an industry or firm model. Section IV presents some suggestions for data publications useful for econometric model builders.