The latest (2004) estimate is that growth was actually 4% a long way above trend. As Robin Leigh-Pemberton, then Governor of the Bank of England, said “we put the brakes on when the speedometer indicated we were doing 60mph. Some time later it was revealed we were doing 55. When the tachograph was opened, however, it revealed that we had actually been doing 70, when the speedometer read 60… more brake pressure was therefore entirely appropriate.” This episode marked a low point for the UK’s GDP statistics in recent times. Since then, a number of methodological changes have been introduced, and data sources have been improved. Analysis both by the ONS and the Statistics Commission indicates a dramatic reduction in the average size of revisions over the past fifteen years. Even so, measuring the economy remains a complex task, and data uncertainty is a fact of life. So what does the MPC do to ensure its judgements are as firmly grounded in reality as possible? We have a four pronged approach: •  We monitor a very wide range of data  •  We pay careful attention to data quality  •  We talk to business people around the country  BIS Review 71/2004  3  •  We are working closely with ONS to transform the quality of official statistics  Monitoring a wide array of indicators First, we critically review an enormous quantity of data.
Those with long memories know we have achieved low inflation and steady growth before - though never for so long - only to see them slip away. They ask: what’s to prevent that happening again? A lot has changed in the past fifteen years. We now have an approach to setting interest rates which provides much better incentives for policy makers to take the right decisions. This - and the strong track record built up over the past decade - has stabilised expectations, with the result that it takes more to throw inflation off course. This is crucial insurance against the risks of a more turbulent decade ahead. A trickier issue - and one on which I want to spend some time tonight - is the vexed question of information. Statisticians get an even worse press than economists. But they are indispensable. Just as well run businesses need good management information, so successful monetary policy depends on having good information about the economy. The statistical fog surrounding the true state of the economy has proved a particularly potent breeding ground for policy errors in the past. Are we yet in sight of a clearer view? The policy framework But let me start first with the policy framework: what grounds are there for being confident that it provides the right incentives for policy makers to take good decisions?