Mr. C. K. Leong
Recently, a research team from the Monetary Authority of Macao (AMCM) held a lecture on “Nowcasting Macao’s GDP: A Dynamic Factor Model Approach” in UM, attracting many students, faculty members, and academic researchers from the department of Economics of Faculty of Social Sciences at UM and beyond. The lecture was provided by the AMCM representative, Mr. C. K. Leong.
Mr. Leong first provided the definition of nowcasting. He said that nowcasting with dynamic factors is often used by central banks and monetary bureaus to assess the economic conditions and design corresponding economic policies amid uncertain times such as the COVID-19 pandemic. In studies of AMCM, the bureau often uses real-time big data, such as gross domestic product (GDP), consumer price index (CPI), tourist arrivals, and gaming revenues, to construct a dynamic factor model that generates an integrated index reflecting Macao’s economy.
The attendees showed much appreciation for Mr. Leong’s sharing. The lecture also sparked a lively discussion on how the approach can be utilized in other contexts.
Source: FSS