Curated Measures

Macro Attention Index

Gauge the real-time efficacy of monetary policy by tracking how intensely global executives are paying attention to central bank signals and macroeconomic trends.

Updated Mar 25, 2026 9 series 624 viewers 8 downloaders

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Overview

The Macro Attention Index tracks the pulse of corporate engagement with central bank policy. Building on the research of Song and Stern (2025) in The Review of Economic Studies, this metric quantifies "Firm Inattention"—the critical friction that determines how quickly (or slowly) interest rate changes translate into real economic activity.

Why This Matters for Practitioners

For central bankers and macro traders, "Attention" is the missing link between a policy announcement and its economic effect.

  • Assess policy transmission: The research by Song and Stern (2025) indicates that high attention facilitates the rapid pricing of new information. If the Fed hikes rates but our FOMC Attention Score remains low, the "transmission mechanism" may be impaired, delaying the intended economic cooling.
  • Monitor price stickiness: Song and Stern (2025) document that "inattentive" firms are slower to adjust prices in response to shocks. A decline in the Global Inflation Attention index can signal periods where inflation may become structurally stickier, as firms operate on autopilot rather than reacting to new data.
  • Track sectoral divergence: The paper highlights how attention is polarized across industries (e.g., financial firms closely monitor the FOMC, while manufacturers focus on Input Costs). Our data allows investors to identify these divergences in real-time, revealing which sectors are pricing in macro risks and which are "tuning out."

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Series

9 total Data through May 31, 2026

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Methodology and data

Methodology:

Song and Stern (2025) established that when firms pay less attention to macroeconomic news, monetary policy becomes less effective. While their study leverages the comprehensive data found in Annual SEC Filings (10-Ks), we apply their validated attention lexicon to quarterly earnings calls and thereby translate their findings into a continuous market signal:

  1. From US annual to global quarterly: We expand the scope from annual US filings to earnings calls across 80 countries, allowing subscribers to compare macro attention cycles between the Fed, the ECB, and Emerging Market central banks.
  2. From statutory to strategic: While 10-Ks provide a standardized regulatory view, earnings calls capture the unscripted priorities of the C-suite. This allows us to measure attention as it shifts in real-time during the fiscal quarter.

  3. The "Attention" metrics: We measure the density of keywords across 9 specific macroeconomic dimensions, generating an Attention Score for each topic that reveals exactly what the corporate world is listening to:

    • Attention to inflation (Price stability & CPI)
    • Attention to employment (Wage pressures & hiring)
    • Attention to monetary policy (Central Bank signaling)
    • Attention to economic growth (GDP & Output)
    • Attention to oil (Oil prices)
    • Attention to consumption (Retail spending)
    • Attention to housing (Housing)
    • Attention to investment (Investment planning)
    • Attention to economic conditions (General economic outlook)

    <small>Note: Product names reflect commercial nomenclature. Underlying keyword dictionaries correspond to the topic categories defined in Song and Stern (2025): Inflation, Employment, FOMC, Output, Oil, Consumption, Housing, Investment, and General.</small>

Data

  • Format: CSV
  • Frequency: Updated bi-weekly
  • Coverage: 14,000+ global companies, 2002-present

References

Song, W. & Stern, S., "Firm Inattention and the Efficacy of Monetary Policy: A Text-Based Approach," The Review of Economic Studies, 92(5):3438-3469 (2025)

NL Analytics. (2026). Macro Attention Index [Data set]. NL Analytics. https://apps.nlanalytics.tech/curated-measures/macro-attention-index/

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