Economics
Big Data Is the New Push for Bank Indonesia
- Central bank monitoring data from social media, online sources
- All 23 economists in survey predict bank to keep rate on hold
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Bank Indonesia is turning to the machines to help make its policy more effective.
In a country of 260 million people spread across more than 17,000 islands, gathering the right kind of information at the right time presents a unique challenge to the central bank. Explosive growth in internet use and social media among Indonesia’s young and growing population has opened up new data sources that policy makers are using to plug gaps in the official numbers.