Distinguished Lecture on Economics in Government: Data Quality and Public Policy

1990 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 3-12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Janet L Norwood
Keyword(s):  
Public Policy ◽  
Data Quality ◽  
Statistical Design ◽  
Local Areas ◽  
Labor Statistics ◽  
Broad Array ◽  
National Estimates ◽  
Government Data ◽  
Bureau Of Labor Statistics ◽  
Statistical Agency

The goal of a government statistical agency must be to produce data that are objective, relevant, accurate, and timely. But none of these criteria is absolute, and sometimes tradeoffs must be made among them. Timeliness and accuracy compete when we decide to issue preliminary results that are subject to revision. Accuracy and relevance compete when we decide whether to introduce data for states or local areas at the expense of reducing the reliability of national estimates. In making these choices, and in developing our statistical programs, we must manage a broad array of tasks. These can be divided into three broad areas of activity: 1) the management of economic design; 2) the management of statistical design; and 3) the management of the process by which we produce our final product. Let me review how we are addressing these issues at the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Maintaining and Enhancing Labor Statistics during the COVID-19 Pandemic

2021 ◽  
Vol 111 ◽  
pp. 317-320
Author(s):  
William W. Beach
Keyword(s):  
Data Collection ◽  
Data Quality ◽  
New Information ◽  
The Us ◽  
Labor Statistics ◽  
Bureau Of Labor Statistics ◽  
The Way

The US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) continued to produce key employment statistics while reengineering operations as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. In-person data collection moved to electronic, deadlines were adjusted, and flexibilities were implemented to get the job done, all while maintaining confidentiality and data quality. Opportunities arose, such as collection of new information from households and businesses on changes that resulted from the pandemic. This is a story that continues to unfold and will transform the way BLS moves forward. This paper focuses on changes in BLS operations and in the economy as reflected in BLS data.

scholarly journals An Examination of the Employment Recovery in the United States in the Wake of the COVID-19 Pandemic

2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 170-175
Author(s):  
David C. Wyld
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Metropolitan Areas ◽  
Recovery Period ◽  
The United States ◽  
Labor Statistics ◽  
Government Data ◽  
Urban And Rural Areas ◽  
Bureau Of Labor Statistics ◽  
The U.S

The “shock” of the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic set about wholesale changes across American life, impacting the way we socialized, shopped, and yes, worked. There were significant disruptions across the business landscape in the United States, accompanied by significant job losses, starting in March 2020. In this article, we examine the size and scope of the changes in employment that took place in the U.S. at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic and during the recovery period up through April 2021. Utilizing official government data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the author examines how the pandemic caused both widespread job losses and record-setting levels of unemployment but had differential effects across a variety of industries. Then, the author looks at the recovery period, examining the recovery in employment has been unequally distributed across the United States, with differentiations between both urban and rural areas and between metropolitan areas across the county. The article concludes with a look at what this means for the future of work and for management moving forward - hopefully - into the post-pandemic period.

[Food Prices and the Bureau of Labor Statistics]: Rejoinder

1960 ◽  
Vol 33 (3) ◽  
pp. 285
Author(s):  
William H. Kruskal ◽  
Lester G. Telser
Keyword(s):  
Food Prices ◽  
Labor Statistics ◽  
Bureau Of Labor Statistics

scholarly journals The need for a Net Zero Principles Framework to support public policy at local, regional and national levels

2020 ◽  
Vol 35 (7) ◽  
pp. 627-634
Author(s):  
Karen Turner ◽  
Antonios Katris ◽  
Julia Race
Keyword(s):  
Public Policy ◽  
Carbon Capture ◽  
Carbon Capture And Storage ◽  
Economic Returns ◽  
Net Zero ◽  
Local Areas ◽  
Zero Carbon ◽  
Near Term ◽  
And Storage ◽  
Do So

Many nations have committed to midcentury net zero carbon emissions targets in line with the 2015 Paris Agreement. These require systemic transition in how people live and do business in different local areas and regions within nations. Indeed, in recognition of the climate challenge, many regional and city authorities have set their own net zero targets. What is missing is a grounded principles framework to support what will inevitably be a range of broader public policy actions, which must in turn consider pathways that are not only technically, but economically, socially and politically feasible. Here, we attempt to stimulate discussion on this issue. We do so by making an initial proposition around a set of generic questions that should challenge any decarbonisation action, using the example of carbon capture and storage to illustrate the importance and complexity of ensuring feasibility of actions in a political economy arena. We argue that this gives rise to five fundamental ‘Net Zero Principles’ around understanding of who really pays and gains, identifying pathways that deliver growing and equitable prosperity, some of which can deliver near-term economic returns, while avoiding outcomes that simply involve ‘off-shoring’ of emissions, jobs and gross domestic product.

A framework for the evaluation and use of alternative data in the Consumer Expenditure Surveys

1915 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura Erhard ◽  
Brett McBride ◽  
Adam safir
Keyword(s):  
Strategic Plan ◽  
Consumer Expenditure ◽  
Quality Of Data ◽  
Additional Information ◽  
Complementary Role ◽  
Labor Statistics ◽  
Weighting Procedures ◽  
Bureau Of Labor Statistics ◽  
The U.S

As part of the implementation of its strategic plan, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) has increasingly studied the issue of using alternative data to improve both the quality of its data and the process by which those data are collected. The plan includes the goal of integrating alternative data into BLS programs. This article describes the framework used by the BLS Consumer Expenditure Surveys (CE) program and the potential these data hold for complementing data collected in traditional formats. It also addresses some of the challenges BLS faces when using alternative data and the complementary role that alternative data play in improving the quality of data currently collected. Alternative data can substitute for what is presently being collected from respondents and provide additional information to supplement the variables the CE program produces or to adjust the CE program’s processing and weighting procedures.

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