This article applies simple methods from computational linguistics to analyze unstructured corporate texts for economic surveillance. We apply text-as-data approaches to earnings conference call transcripts, patent texts, and job postings to uncover unique insights into how markets and firms respond to economic shocks, such as a nuclear disaster or a geopolitical event—insights that often elude traditional data sources. This method enhances our ability to extract actionable intelligence from textual data, thereby aiding policy-making and strategic corporate decisions. By integrating computational linguistics into the analysis of economic shocks, our study opens new possibilities for real-time economic surveillance and offers a more nuanced understanding of firm-level reactions in volatile economic environments.
https://doi.org/10.20955/wp.2024.022
follow @stlouisfed