AEACGR: Briefings, Presentations, and AEA Statements

9/22/21 *NEW* How Data Synch Can Save U.S. Official Statistics

2/16/21 *NEW* Comments for the Advisory Committee on Data for Evidence Building

6/26/2020 Statement on the Need for Accurate and Reliable Data from the 2020 Decennial Census

4/20/2020 Formal Statement in response to a Federal Register Notice by EPA on Strengthening Transparency in Regulatory Science

3/27/2020 Formal response from the AEA Committees On Economic Statistics and Government Relations, to OSTP’s "Request for Public Comment on Draft Desirable Characteristics of Repositories for Managing and Sharing Data Resulting from Federally Funded Research"

3/10/2020 Formal response by the AEA Data Editor to OSTP’s "Request for Public Comment on Draft Desirable Characteristics of Repositories for Managing and Sharing Data Resulting from Federally Funded Research"

7/25/2019 Formal response to a Federal Register Notice requesting comments on the action plan for a Federal Data Strategy.

11/5/2018 AEA Committees' Statement of Support for Moving the Bureau of Labor Statistics to the Department of Commerce

4/26/2018 AEA Statement on Principles of Economic Measurement

Archives

2013 CONGRESSIONAL BRIEFING ON HEALTH ECONOMICS RESEARCH

PDF of Invitation flyer

The American Economic Association held a briefing on the importance of health economics research supported by NIH on Friday April 12, 2013 in the Rayburn House Office Building, Room B-338.  The briefing was co-sponsored by AcademyHealth, Consortium of Social Science Associations, Council of Professional Associations on Federal Statistics, the Population Association of America and Research! America.

Moderator: Mark McClellan

Speakers:

For more information see the Contribution of Economics Research to the NIH Mission and Capitol Hill Briefing Discusses the Contributions of Economic Research to Health.

DAVIS REPRESENTS THE AEA AT THE 2013 CNSF EXHIBITION

The American Economic Association sponsored a science exhibit by Professor Douglas Davis Virginia Commonwealth University at the Coalition of National Science Funding (CNSF) 18th Annual Exhibition and Reception on May 7th in the Rayburn House Office Building.  The purpose of the CNSF Exhibition is to inform members of Congress, congressional staff and federal employees about the breadth and significance of scientific research supported by the National Science Foundation. The Exhibition included more than 30 displays featuring posters, computer demonstrations, videos, and educational materials about NSF-supported research and education projects. The CNSF website has more information about the exhibit.

AEA/COSSA Sponsor Science Exhibit by Currie on NLS

Dr. Janet Currie of Princeton University represented the AEA and COSSA at a Congressional Reception and Science Exhibition “Celebrating 50 Years of Research Progress at the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development” in the Cannon Caucus Room on July 12, 2012. Dr. Currie’s science exhibit was on “The Economics of Child Health: Evidence from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth.” Her presentation provided evidence regarding the economic effect of health in childhood from the National Longitudinal Surveys. Because of their large sample sizes, the fact that they follow children over time, and the linkage of mothers and children, these surveys are ideal for identifying the medium to long term effects of health conditions. Her presentation focused on obesity, health at birth, mental health, and child development, and on the ties between these conditions and adult educational attainment, labor force participation and earnings.

Click Here for a larger PDF of the poster...

AEA exhibits at the 2012 CNSF Exhibition

The Coalition for National Science Funding (CNSF) held its 17th Annual Exhibition and Reception on May 11th in the Rayburn House Office Building in order to inform members of Congress, congressional staff and federal employees about the breadth and significance of scientific research supported by the National Science Foundation. The Exhibition included more than 30 displays featuring posters, computer demonstrations, videos, and educational materials about NSF-supported research and education projects. The CNSF website has information about the exhibit.

Dr. Matthew Shapiro and Margaret C. Levenstein from the University of Michigan represented the AEA at the Exhibition. Their exhibit focused on the Michigan Census Research Data Center (MCRDC), a joint project of the U.S. Bureau of the Census and the University of Michigan to enable qualified researchers with approved projects to access unpublished Census data in order to conduct research that benefits Census Bureau programs.

Established in 2001 with support from the National Science Foundation, researchers at the MCRDC have conducted research on topics such as

• how firms overcome impediments to export, documenting the growth in exports across regions and industries
• the importance of efficient utilization of capital for productivity growth
• the impact of Empowerment Zones on firm and job creation
• the causes of the shift from defined benefit to defined contribution retirement plans
• the location of New Orleans residents one year after Katrina
• migration patterns of new and old immigrant groups
• new techniques for creating small area estimates
• impact of using phone and in-person follow-ups to mail surveys on Census estimates of populations

The MCRDC also contributes to the training of the next generation of social scientists, especially those who will help to rejuvenate an aging staff in the national statistical agencies. Over fifty doctoral dissertations have or are in the process of being completed in the MCRDC. Half a dozen students have participated in Census mentoring programs.

The exhibit also described the new Michigan NSF-Census Research Network (NCRN). The Michigan NCRN is undertaking a series of projects that build on work in the MCRDC as well as the survey research conducted at the University of Michigan to re-engineer national statistics by making better use of digital information produced in the course of daily life. The information analyzed, for example for studying unemployment, ranges from Tweets about job loss to administrative records on benefit receipts linked to survey data. By developing appropriate statistical methods for turning such information into analytical datasets, the Michigan NCRN will create the basis for national statistics for the twenty-first century, in which data collection costs and respondent burden are lower, data quality is higher, and privacy is enhanced.

Click Here for a larger PDF of the poster...

Congressional Briefing on 2012 Economic Census

L-R: Tim Maney, U.S. Chamber of Commerce; Charles Schultze, Brookings Institution; Katharine Abraham, Council of Economic Advisers; William Shobe, University of Virginia; J. Steven Landefeld, Bureau of Economic Analysis.

The American Economic Association in cooperation with Senator Tom Carper (R-DE), Representative John Campbell (R-CA) and Representative Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) held a briefing on the importance of the 2012 Economic Census for business and government decision making on Monday, September 26, 2011 in the Rayburn House Office Building, Room B-340. The impetus for the briefing was a budget impact statement to OMB from the Census Bureau that the Economic Census could be cancelled due to inadequate FY2012 funding.

The briefing was co-sponsored by the American Statistical Association, Annie E. Casey Foundation, Association of Population Centers, Association of Public Data Users, Association for University Business and Economic Research, Census Project Coalition, Consortium of Social Science Associations, Council for Community and Economic Research, Council of Professional Associations on Federal Statistics, Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, Industry Studies Association, International Council of Shopping Centers, International Franchise Association, Marketing Research Association, National Association for Business Economics, Population Association of America, Population Reference Bureau, Population Resource Center, and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

Moderator: Charles Schultze, Brookings Institution

Speakers:

For more information see briefing announcement, joint statement by AEAStat and AEACGR, a handout on the Economic Census, and supplementary material. Also see Economic Census Linkages, Review of 2012 Economic Census, Economic History Association statement, and an article on the Survey of Business Owners.

Holt represents the AEA at the 2011 CNSF Exhibition

The Coalition for National Science Funding (CNSF) held its 17th Annual Exhibition and Reception on May 11th in the Rayburn House Office Building to educate members of Congress, congressional staff and federal employees about the breadth and significance of scientific research supported by the National Science Foundation. The Exhibition included more than 30 displays featuring posters, computer demonstrations, videos, and educational materials about NSF-supported research and education projects. The CNSF website has more information about the exhibit. 

Dr. Charles Holt University of Virginia represented the AEA at the Exhibition . His exhibit entitled “A Virtual Laboratory for Research and Teaching on Social Economic Interactions” was based on an NSF infrastructure grant that supported a team of 10 economists, political scientists, and an anthropologist for 5 years.

Research results from the grant included:
- evaluation and design of auctions, such as the combinatorial bidding used in the 2008 Federal Communication Commission spectrum auction;
- evaluation of matching methods including medical students to hospital residencies, law students to clerkships, and students to schools; and
- experimental studies in a pastoral-nomadic community in Kenya that show fairness increasing with exposure to market institutions.

The “Veconlab” that resulted from this grant is a virtual laboratory that allows about ten thousand students from around the world each month to log in remotely and participate in experiments. Students are put into strategic scenarios where their decisions help them understand the more abstract theoretical concepts that are presented in their textbooks. This lab has over 50 experiments available to instructors with access to the web. Click here to read more on Veconlab.

Congressional Briefing on the Benefits of Economic Research
March 2010

L-R: Nancy Lutz, NSF Economics Program Officer, Speakers: Alvin Roth, Lawrence Ausubel, Brigitte Madrian, and John Siegfried, and Dan Newlon, American Economic Association, Government Relations.

Congressional Briefing on  “Better Living through Economics:  How Fundamental Economic Research Improves People’s Lives” on March 15, 2010, 12:00-1:30 B338 Rayburn House Office Building

Better Living Through Economics (Harvard University Press 2010) illustrates the fundamental contributions of economic research to important public policy decisions through twelve case studies.   A panel of distinguished scholars discussed some of these examples of how basic economic research by academic economists has improved people’s lives and continues to impact policy decisions.     

Speakers: 
Brigitte Madrian, Harvard Kennedy School More Saving and Better Retirements
Lawrence Ausubel, University of Maryland  The Greatest Auction in History: Raising Billions from Communications Spectrum
Alvin Roth, Harvard University Improved Markets for Doctors, Organ Transplants and School Choice
John Siegfried, Vanderbilt University Cheaper Airfares, Welfare Reform and All-Volunteer Military

2010 Coalition for National Science Funding (CNSF) Exhibition

Dr. John Abowd represented COSSA and the AEA at the 16th Annual CNSF Exhibition and Reception on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. The purpose of the event was to educate members of Congress, congressional staff and other federal employees about the breadth and significance of scientific research supported by the National Science Foundation.

The CNSF website has more information about the exhibit. 

People, Employers and Jobs: New Data, Reliable Analysis, Better Confidentiality

Summary of National Science Foundation support for social data infrastructure

• Creation of the longitudinally integrated employer-employee data system that provides the Quarterly Workforce Indicators (QWI) and OnTheMap (OTM)
• Now funded as the Census Bureau’s Local Employment Dynamics initiative (FY 2010)
• Reliable, detailed, local labor market data
• Sophisticated, provable confidentiality protection
• Innovative scientific research using the Census Research Data Centers
• Many other social data projects were also supported

The NSF-Census Bureau partnership to support the Census Research Data Centers

• Ten RDCs nationally run by the Center for Economic Studies at the Census Bureau with support from NSF through grants to the RDCs themselves and to Principal
• Investigators working in the RDCs
• Hundreds of scientific projects using the Census Bureau’s internal business, household and integrated data to improve the quality of the national statistical infrastructure
• Rigorous review, security and confidentiality protocols

Contacts

• Cornell University: John.Abowd@cornell.edu
• Census Bureau Chief Economist: Ron.S.Jarmin@census.gov
• Local Employment Dynamics: Jeremy.S.Wu@census.gov
• OnTheMap specialist: Patrick.Hayward@census.gov (Heath)

Websites

• Local Employment Dynamics
• OnTheMap
• Center for Economic Studies (RDCs)
• Cornell University Virtual RDC

People, Employers and Jobs: New Data, Reliable Analysis, Better Confidentiality

National Science Foundation-Census Bureau partnership for research improving the social data infrastructure

(click map for larger PDF version)