This MATLAB/Octave toolbox comes with routines to access DBnomics time series from MATLAB.
The package is compatible with MATLAB 2019b and following versions, and (almost compatible with) the latest Octave version.
Installation
The toolbox can be installed by cloning the Git repository:
~$ git clone https://git.dynare.org/DoraK/mdbnomics.git
or downloading a zip archive:
~$ wget https://git.dynare.org/DoraK/mdbnomics/-/archive/master/mdbnomics-master.zip
~$ unsip mdbnomics-master.zip
-$ mv mdbnomics-master mdbnomics
Usage
Add the mdbnomics/src
folder to the MATLAB/Octave path, and run the following command (on MATLAB/Octave) prompt:
>> initialize_mdbnomics()
which, depending on your system, will add the necessary subfolders to the MATLAB/Octave path.
You are then ready to go. A full documentation will come soon.
Examples
Fetch one time series by ID
First, let's assume that we know which series we want to download.
A series identifier (ID) is defined by three values, formatted like this: provider_code/dataset_code/series_code
.
The fetch_series
function is used to construct the cell array.
For example, to fetch the time series EA19.1.0.0.0.ZUTN
from the
"Unemployment rate" [ZUTN] dataset
belonging to the AMECO provider.
Example:
>> df_id = fetch_series('series_ids',"AMECO/ZUTN/EA19.1.0.0.0.ZUTN");
The returned data is stored in the df_id
variable. Its type is a cell array. To display the first 3 rows of the array
(including the column headers), type:
>> df_id(1:4,:)
616 cell array
Columns 1 through 5
{'x_frequency'} {'provider_code'} {'dataset_code'} {'dataset_name' } {'series_code' }
{'annual' } {'AMECO' } {'ZUTN' } {'Unemployment ra'} {'EA19.1.0.0.0.ZUTN'}
{'annual' } {'AMECO' } {'ZUTN' } {'Unemployment ra'} {'EA19.1.0.0.0.ZUTN'}
{'annual' } {'AMECO' } {'ZUTN' } {'Unemployment ra'} {'EA19.1.0.0.0.ZUTN'}
Columns 6 through 11
{'series_name' } {'original_period'} {'period' } {'original_value'} {'value'} {'freq'}
{'Annually (Per'} {'1960' } {'1960-01-01'} {'NA' } {[ NaN]} {'a' }
{'Annually (Per'} {'1961' } {'1961-01-01'} {'NA' } {[ NaN]} {'a' }
{'Annually (Per'} {'1962' } {'1962-01-01'} {'NA' } {[ NaN]} {'a' }
Columns 12 through 16
{'unit' } {'geo' } {'Frequency'} {'Unit' } {'Country' }
{'percentage-of-a'} {'ea19'} {'Annually' } {'(Percentage of '} {'Euro area'}
{'percentage-of-a'} {'ea19'} {'Annually' } {'(Percentage of '} {'Euro area'}
{'percentage-of-a'} {'ea19'} {'Annually' } {'(Percentage of '} {'Euro area'}
>>
In such cell array, you will always find at least those columns:
-
x_frequency
: (harmonized frequency generated by DBnomics) provider_code
dataset_code
dataset_name
series_code
series_name
-
original_period
: theperiod
as returned by DBnomics -
period
: the first day oforiginal_period
-
original_value
(str
orfloat
): the observation value as returned by DBnomics, where not available values are represented by"NA"
-
value
(float
orNaN
): the observation value as returned by DBnomics, where not available values are represented byNaN
Followed by dimensions columns, corresponding to the dimensions of the dataset:
- dimensions labels:
freq
,unit
,geo
- dimensions values labels:
Frequency
,Unit
,Country
Fetch two time series by ID
Again, let's assume that we know which series we want to download.
We can reuse the fetch_series
function, this time with two series codes.
For example, to fetch the time series EA19.1.0.0.0.ZUTN
and DNK.1.0.0.0.ZUTN
from the
"Unemployment rate" [ZUTN] dataset
belonging to the AMECO provider.
Example:
>> df_ids = fetch_series('series_ids', ["AMECO/ZUTN/EA19.1.0.0.0.ZUTN", "AMECO/ZUTN/DNK.1.0.0.0.ZUTN"]);
Fetch time series by code mask
The code mask notation is a very concise way to select one or many time series at once. It is not compatible with all the providers. In particular, only the providers from the following list accept code mask:
- BIS
- ECB
- Eurostat
- FED
- IMF
- IMF-WEO
- INSEE
- OECD
- WTO
Given 3 dimensions "frequency", "country" and "indicator", the user can select:
- one time series by giving its code:
"M.FR.PCPIEC_IX"
- many series by enumerating dimensions codes:
"M.FR+DE.PCPIEC_IX"
is equivalent to["M.FR.PCPIEC_IX", "M.DE.PCPIEC_IX"]
- many series by skipping a dimension, repeating "." in the code mask:
"M..PCPIEC_IX"
is equivalent to["M.country1.PCPIEC_IX", "M.country2.PCPIEC_IX", ..., "M.countryN.PCPIEC_IX"]
Examples:
>> df_code_mask1 = fetch_series('provider_code', "IMF", 'dataset_code', "CPI", 'series_code', "M.FR+DE.PCPIEC_IX+PCPIA_IX");
>> df_code_mask2 = fetch_series('provider_code', "IMF", 'dataset_code', "CPI", 'series_code', ".FR.PCPIEC_WT");
>> df_code_mask3 = fetch_series('provider_code', "IMF", 'dataset_code', "CPI", 'series_code', "M..PCPIEC_IX+PCPIA_IX", 'max_nb_series', 400);
Fetch time series by dimension
Searching by dimension is a less concise way to select time series than using the code mask, but it's universal:
some fetchers are not compatible with the code mask notation. The following example fetches many series from the
"Doing Business" [DB] dataset of the World Bank provider, selecting for time series about France, Italy and Spain (country
dimension),
and the indicator "Procedures required to start a business - Women (number)" (indicator
dimension).
Example:
>> df_dims = fetch_series('provider_code',"WB",'dataset_code',"DB", 'dimensions', '{"country":["ES","FR","IT"],"indicator":["IC.REG.COST.PC.FE.ZS.DRFN"]}');
Fetch time series by API link
When the dimensions, provider, dataset or series codes are unknown, the user can:
- go to the page of a dataset on DBnomics website (eg: Doing Business)
- select some dimensions by using the input widgets of the left column
- click on
Copy API link
in the menu of theDownload
button - use the
fetch_series_by_api_link
function
Example:
>> df_link = fetch_series_by_api_link('https://api.db.nomics.world/v22/series/WB/DB/ENF.CONT.COEN.ATDR-AE?observations=1');
Fetch time series from the cart
On the cart page of the DBnomics website, click on "Copy API link" and copy-paste it as an argument of the fetch_series_by_api_link function. Please note that when you update your cart, you have to copy this link again, because the link itself contains the IDs of the series in the cart.
Example:
>> df_cart = fetch_series_by_api_link('https://api.db.nomics.world/v22/series?series_ids=AMECO%2FZUTN%2FEA19.1.0.0.0.ZUTN&observations=1');
Fetch time series with different frequencies
Example:
>> df_multi_freq = fetch_series('series_ids', ["BEA/NIUnderlyingDetail-U001BC/S315-A",...
"BEA/NIUnderlyingDetail-U001BC/S315-Q",...
"BEA/NIUnderlyingDetail-U001BC/S315-M"]);
Transform time series
The routines can interact with the Time Series Editor to transform time series by applying filters to them. Available filters are listed on the filters page. The Time Series Editor is usable via a web interface (example with AMECO/ZUTN/EA19.1.0.0.0.ZUTN) but you can call it directly from MATLAB. The user is also able to chain many filters. Here is an example of how to interpolate two annual time series with a monthly frequency, using a spline interpolation.
Example:
>> filters_ = '[{"code": "interpolate", "parameters": {"frequency": "monthly", "method": "spline"}}]';
>> df_filter = fetch_series('series_ids', "AMECO/ZUTN/EA19.1.0.0.0.ZUTN",'dbnomics_filters', filters_);
The first row of the final cell array changes when filters are used:
-
period_middle_day
: the middle day oforiginal_period
(can be useful when you compare graphically interpolated series and original ones) -
filtered
(bool
): True if the series is filtered -
series_code
: same as before for original series, but the suffix_filtered
is added for filtered series -
series_name
: same as before for original series, but the suffix(filtered)
is added for filtered series