As reported in The Economist 18th April 2009, Google's chief economist believes "that data on internet searches can help predict certain kinds of economic statistics before they become available".
The fluctuations and frequency of certain searched words and phrases can help predict, for example, retail sales figures, house sales or eventual tourist arrivals to certain countries/territories. Data is available through Google Trends.
Many institutions limit access to their online information. Making this information available will be an asset to all.
Posted by: Papers Research | 13 October 2009 at 01:22 PM