Why do official economic statistics get revised—and why do those revisions sometimes change the story of the economy?
In this episode of ECON-versations with NABE, we revisit a timely and much-discussed webinar that originally aired live on January 29, 2026, examining revisions to U.S. economic data from the BLS, BEA, and Census Bureau. Over the past year, revisions have made headlines for materially reshaping our understanding of growth, inflation, and labor market conditions.
Our panel digs into why revisions happen, how unusual recent revisions have been, what they reveal about the underlying state of the economy, and what business economists—and economic media—should keep in mind when interpreting early data releases versus subsequent updates.
Speakers
David Wilcox, Senior Fellow, Peterson Institute for International Economics; Director of U.S. Economic Research, Bloomberg Economics
Dean Croushore, Professor of Economics and Rigsby Fellow, University of Richmond
Moderator: Jed Kolko, Co-Chair, NABE Data Analytics & Statistics Roundtable; Senior Fellow, Peterson Institute for International Economics; Senior Advisor, JPMC Institute
NABE is the premier professional association for business economists and others who use economics in the workplace. Since 1959, NABE has attracted the most prominent figures in economics, business, and academia to its membership with highly-regarded conferences, educational and career development offerings, industry surveys, and its unrivaled networking opportunities. Past presidents of NABE include former Chairman of the Board of Governors for the Federal Reserve System, Alan Greenspan, several former Federal Reserve Governors, and other senior business leaders.
