Get started with tidyBdE
Description: Introduction to tidyBdE.

tidyBdE is an R package that retrieves data from Banco de España. Data are returned as a tibble, and the package automatically detects the format of each time series (dates, characters and numbers).

## Search series

Banco de España (BdE) provides several time series, either produced by the institution itself or compiled from other sources, such as Eurostat or INE.

The basic entry point for searching time series is the catalog. You can search for series by name:

    library(tidyBdE)

    library(ggplot2)
    library(dplyr)
    library(tidyr)

    # Search for GBP in the "TC" (exchange rate) catalog.
    xr_gbp <- bde_catalog_search("GBP", catalog = "TC")

    xr_gbp |>
      select(Numero_secuencial, Descripcion_de_la_serie) |>
      # Display the table in the document.
      knitr::kable()

Numero_secuencial | Descripcion_de_la_serie
--- | ---
573214 | Tipo de cambio. Libras esterlinas por euro (GBP/EUR).Datos diarios

Table 1: Search results

Note: BdE metadata is currently provided in Spanish only, so search terms must be provided in Spanish to retrieve results. The institution is working on an English version.

After finding a series, load the GBP/EUR exchange rate using the sequential number reference (`Numero_secuencial`):

    seq_number <- xr_gbp |>
      # Select the first record.
      slice(1) |>
      # Get the series ID.
      pull(Numero_secuencial) |>
      # Convert to numeric.
      as.double()

    seq_number
    #> [1] 573214

    time_series <- bde_series_load(seq_number, series_label = "EUR_GBP_XR") |>
      filter(Date >= "2010-01-01" & Date <= "2020-12-31") |>
      drop_na()

    time_series
    #> # A tibble: 2,816 × 2
    #>    Date       EUR_GBP_XR
    #>    <date>          <dbl>
    #>  1 2010-01-04      0.891
    #>  2 2010-01-05      0.900
    #>  3 2010-01-06      0.899
    #>  4 2010-01-07      0.900
    #>  5 2010-01-08      0.893
    #>  6 2010-01-11      0.899
    #>  7 2010-01-12      0.897
    #>  8 2010-01-13      0.895
    #>  9 2010-01-14      0.890
    #> 10 2010-01-15      0.881
    #> # ℹ 2,806 more rows

## Plot series

The package also provides a custom ggplot2 theme based on BdE publications:

    ggplot(time_series, aes(x = Date, y = EUR_GBP_XR)) +
      geom_line(colour = bde_tidy_palettes(n = 1)) +
      geom_smooth(method = "gam", colour = bde_tidy_palettes(n = 2)[2]) +
      labs(
        title = "EUR/GBP Exchange Rate (2010-2020)",
        subtitle = "%",
        caption = "Source: BdE"
      ) +
      geom_vline(
        xintercept = as.Date("2016-06-23"),
        linetype = "dotted"
      ) +
      geom_label(aes(
        x = as.Date("2016-06-23"),
        y = 0.95,
        label = "Brexit"
      )) +
      coord_cartesian(ylim = c(0.7, 1)) +
      theme_tidybde()

Figure 1: EUR/GBP Exchange Rate (2010-2020)

The package also provides convenience functions for selected macroeconomic series, so you do not need to search manually:

    # Data in long format.

    plotseries <- bde_ind_gdp_var("GDP YoY", out_format = "long") |>
      bind_rows(
        bde_ind_unemployment_rate("Unemployment Rate", out_format = "long")
      ) |>
      drop_na() |>
      filter(Date >= "2010-01-01" & Date <= "2019-12-31")

    ggplot(plotseries, aes(x = Date, y = serie_value)) +
      geom_line(aes(color = serie_name), linewidth = 1) +
      labs(
        title = "Spanish Economic Indicators (2010-2019)",
        subtitle = "%",
        caption = "Source: BdE"
      ) +
      theme_tidybde() +
      scale_color_bde_d(palette = "bde_vivid_pal") # Use a custom package palette.

Figure 2: Spanish Economic Indicators (2010-2019)

## A note on caching

You can use tidyBdE to create a local cache by setting the following option:

    options(bde_cache_dir = "./path/to/location")

When this option is set, tidyBdE looks for cached files in the `bde_cache_dir` directory and loads them, speeding up data retrieval.

You can update the data after monthly or quarterly releases with the following commands:

    bde_catalog_update()

    # Or use `update_cache = TRUE` in most functions.

    bde_series_load("SOME ID", update_cache = TRUE)