The United Kingdom’s Office for National Statistics (ONS) periodically releases series of data on various subjects. On the ONS Web site you can find the time series related to: quarter-to-quarter growth in GDP, business investment, and retail sales. For the latter, make sure you select the non-seasonally adjusted value for total retail sales (available on a quarterly-basis for the last three years only).
a. Compute the percentage quarterly change in investment and sales for the last years available (for investment: since 1997; for sales: since 2013).
b. Compare the three series. Which indicator is more vola-tile? Why? How does it fit with the arguments made in this chapter?