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Gross Domestic Product: No Evidence of Manipulation in First Quarter 1991 Estimates

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Report Type Reports and Testimonies
Report Date March 10, 1993
Report No. GGD-93-58
Subject
Summary:

Press reports alleged that the Department of Commerce inflated the first quarter 1991 gross domestic product (GDP) to mask the true dimensions of the economic downturn. GAO, however, found no evidence that the Bureau of Economic Analysis manipulated first quarter 1991 personal income or GDP for political purposes. GAO does make several suggestions for improving the perceived integrity of the Bureau's data. For example, GAO believes that the Bureau could more completely document and explain its data. Additionally, the Bureau has issued no public response to the press allegations. To determine user needs and to assure Congress and the public of the integrity and credibility of its data, the Bureau also needs to increase outside expert review and comment on its procedures. Congress may want to request that the Bureau testify regularly when it releases major national economic statistics.

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