The Advisory Committee on Measuring Innovation in the 21st Century Economy was established by the Secretary of Commerce in September 2006 to recommend ways to improve the measurement of innovation in the economy. In its report, the Advisory Committee outlines its recommendations to the Secretary of Commerce for steps to be taken by the government, the business community and government and private...

Pursuant to the requirements of the Propane Education and Research Act of 1996 (PERA), the Department of Commerce is required to analyze changes in propane prices relative to other energy sources. This interim report comes 180 days after the latest report found that propane prices exceeded a threshold established by PERA. This report presents the relevant price data and concludes that in 2008...

Pursuant to the requirements of the Propane Education and Research Act of 1996 (PERA), the Department of Commerce prepared this analysis of changes in propane prices relative to other energy sources. The report presents the relevant price data and concludes that propane prices have not exceeded the threshold established by PERA.

Over the past year, there has been some concern over the potential economic impact of unusually high natural gas prices. Although natural gas prices declined from $10 per thousand cubic feet (mcf) in December 2005 to about $6 recently, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) expects prices to return to the unprecedented price levels of last year as we move back into this winter’s heating...

Pursuant to the requirements of the Propane Education and Research Act of 1996 (PERA), the Department of Commerce prepared this analysis of changes in propane prices relative to other energy sources. The report presents the relevant price data and concludes that propane prices have not exceeded the threshold established by PERA.

People, over time, generally experience changes in income and economic well-being. Measures such as poverty rates and median income are useful for understanding general economic trends; however, these aggregates often mask the extent of income variability experienced by individuals. Longitudinal surveys, by tracking the same households over time, allow for the study of personal income dynamics.

After two years of retrenchment, information technology-producing industries now show signs of resuming the dynamic role they played during 1996–2000.

The second half of 2000 marked a turning point in recent economic experience and gave new urgency to questions about the nature and durability of the new economy. Answers to these questions should be clearer on the far side of the slowdown. For analysts standing in the hollow of the process, however, the challenge is still to assess developments in information technology-producing and -using...