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Suggested Citation:"FrontMatter." National Research Council. 2006. Improving Business Statistics Through Interagency Data Sharing: Summary of a Workshop. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11738.
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IMPROVING BUSINESS STATISTICS THROUGH INTERAGENCY DATA SHARING

SUMMARY OF A WORKSHOP

Caryn Kuebler and Christopher Mackie, Rapporteurs

Steering Committee for the Workshop on the Benefits of Interagency Business Data Sharing

Committee on National Statistics

Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education

NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES

THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES PRESS

Washington, D.C.
www.nap.edu

Suggested Citation:"FrontMatter." National Research Council. 2006. Improving Business Statistics Through Interagency Data Sharing: Summary of a Workshop. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11738.
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THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES PRESS

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NOTICE: The project that is the subject of this report was approved by the Governing Board of the National Research Council, whose members are drawn from the councils of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. The members of the committee responsible for the report were chosen for their special competences and with regard for appropriate balance.

This study is supported by a contract between the National Academy of Sciences and the National Science Foundation (Number SBR-0112521). The work of the Committee on National Statistics is also provided by a consortium of federal agencies through the same grant from the National Science Foundation. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the organizations or agencies that provided support for the project.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Improving business statistics through interagency data sharing : summary of a workshop / Caryn Kuebler and Christopher Mackie, rapporteurs.

p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references.

ISBN 0-309-10261-8 (pbk.) — ISBN 0-309-66282-6 (pdfs) 1. United States— Statistical services—Congresses. 2. United States—Commerce—Statistics— Congresses. 3. Commercial statistics—United States—Congresses. I. Kuebler, Caryn. II. Mackie, Christopher D. III. National Research Council (U.S.). Committee on National Statistics.

HA37.U55I47 2006

650.072′7—dc22

2006023359

International Standard Book Number-13 978-0-309-10261-2

Additional copies of this report are available from

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Copyright 2006 by the National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.

Suggested citation: National Research Council. (2006). Improving Business Statistics Through Interagency Data Sharing: Summary of a Workshop. Caryn Kuebler and Christopher Mackie, Rapporteurs. Steering Committee for the Workshop on the Benefits of Interagency Business Data Sharing. Committee on National Statistics, Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.

Suggested Citation:"FrontMatter." National Research Council. 2006. Improving Business Statistics Through Interagency Data Sharing: Summary of a Workshop. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11738.
×

THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES

Advisers to the Nation on Science, Engineering, and Medicine


The National Academy of Sciences is a private, nonprofit, self-perpetuating society of distinguished scholars engaged in scientific and engineering research, dedicated to the furtherance of science and technology and to their use for the general welfare. Upon the authority of the charter granted to it by the Congress in 1863, the Academy has a mandate that requires it to advise the federal government on scientific and technical matters. Dr. Ralph J. Cicerone is president of the National Academy of Sciences.


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Suggested Citation:"FrontMatter." National Research Council. 2006. Improving Business Statistics Through Interagency Data Sharing: Summary of a Workshop. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11738.
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Suggested Citation:"FrontMatter." National Research Council. 2006. Improving Business Statistics Through Interagency Data Sharing: Summary of a Workshop. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11738.
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STEERING COMMITTEE FOR THE WORKSHOP ON THE BENEFITS OF INTERAGENCY BUSINESS DATA SHARING

CHARLES L. SCHULTZE (Chair),

The Brookings Institution, Washington, DC

DANIEL R. FEENBERG,

National Bureau of Economic Research, Cambridge, MA

JOHN HALTIWANGER,

Department of Economics, University of Maryland

RALPH A. RECTOR,

The Heritage Foundation, Washington, DC

CHRISTOPHER MACKIE, Study Director

CARYN KUEBLER, Research Associate

MICHAEL SIRI, Senior Program Assistant

Suggested Citation:"FrontMatter." National Research Council. 2006. Improving Business Statistics Through Interagency Data Sharing: Summary of a Workshop. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11738.
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COMMITTEE ON NATIONAL STATISTICS 2005-2006

WILLIAM F. EDDY (Chair),

Department of Statistics, Carnegie Mellon University

KATHARINE ABRAHAM,

Department of Economics, University of Maryland, and Joint Program in Survey Methodology

ROBERT BELL,

AT&T Research Laboratories, Florham Park, NJ

ROBERT M. GROVES,

Survey Research Center, Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan, and Joint Program in Survey Methodology

JOHN HALTIWANGER,

Department of Economics, University of Maryland

PAUL W. HOLLAND,

Educational Testing Service, Princeton, NJ

JOEL L. HOROWITZ,

Department of Economics, Northwestern University

DOUGLAS MASSEY,

Department of Sociology, Princeton University

VIJAY NAIR,

Department of Statistics and Department of Industrial and Operations Engineering, University of Michigan

DARYL PREGIBON,

Google, Inc., New York

SAMUEL H. PRESTON,

Department of Sociology, University of Pennsylvania

KENNETH PREWITT,

School of International and Public Affairs, Columbia University

LOUISE RYAN,

Department of Biostatistics, Harvard University

NORA CATE SCHAEFFER,

Department of Sociology, University of Wisconsin-Madison

CONSTANCE F. CITRO, Director

Suggested Citation:"FrontMatter." National Research Council. 2006. Improving Business Statistics Through Interagency Data Sharing: Summary of a Workshop. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11738.
×

Preface

The workshop summarized in this report was convened by the Committee on National Statistics (CNSTAT) on behalf of the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) to discuss interagency business data sharing. Recent legislation, particularly the 2002 Confidential Information Protection and Statistical Efficiency Act (CIPSEA), has created new opportunities for sharing among BEA, the Census Bureau, and the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) and has also stirred debate on data sharing, access, and confidentiality issues. The purpose of this workshop was to present strategies for enhancing the ability of statistical agencies to efficiently share administrative and statistical data on businesses, while still protecting respondent confidentiality. More effective interagency data sharing is essential if the statistical agencies are to have access to the most accurate information available and, in turn, continue to improve the quality of data and statistics in a cost-effective and minimally burdensome manner.

The workshop focused on the benefits of data sharing to two groups of stakeholders—the statistical agencies themselves and downstream data users, such as researchers and policy makers. Presenters represented four key agencies involved in business data sharing—BEA, the Census Bureau, BLS, and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS)—as well as the Federal Reserve Board, the Congressional Budget Office, and academia. This report provides a summary of the presentations and the discussions that took place. The workshop was not designed to produce recommendations; however, participants persuasively presented arguments in favor of expanding data sharing—emphasizing increased efficiency, reduced respondent burden, and more accurate information for policy makers—and sug-

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Suggested Citation:"FrontMatter." National Research Council. 2006. Improving Business Statistics Through Interagency Data Sharing: Summary of a Workshop. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11738.
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gestions on ways to work within (and to change, if necessary) current codes and regulation to make it happen. Workshop presenters and participants also recognized the importance of maintaining high standards for protecting data confidentiality. Steven Landefeld, director of BEA, suggested implementing incremental changes to data-sharing arrangements, including streamlining administrative procedures under CIPSEA; expediting access to research data centers; and modifying IRS procedures, through legislative or regulatory changes, to promote effective use of administrative data for statistical uses.

On behalf of CNSTAT, I thank all of the workshop participants, particularly those who prepared detailed presentations, which provided for engaging and productive discussion. We also thank the workshop participants for their insightful comments and fruitful exchange of ideas, as well as for their input as staff drafted this report. We especially thank members of the workshop steering committee—Daniel Feenberg of the National Bureau of Economic Research, John Haltiwanger of the University of Maryland, and Ralph Rector of the Heritage Foundation—for their helpful guidance and leadership in planning and moderating the workshop. Robert Parker provided important consultation to the staff and the committee. We thank him, along with Dennis Fixler, Steven Landefeld, Nick Greenia, Mark Mazur, and George Plesko, for contributing important background papers for the workshop and this volume.

We are grateful for BEA’s sponsorship of the workshop and thank Steven Landefeld and Dennis Fixler, in particular, for offering guidance to staff and the workshop steering committee in development of the agenda and in identifying the workshop goals. We would also like to thank the Kauffman Foundation, which is sponsoring a CNSTAT study on improving business data and statistics, whose members provided additional guidance for the development of the workshop program. Christopher Mackie, the staff study director for the workshop, was instrumental in every aspect of the workshop process. He stewarded the planning of the workshop, worked closely with the steering committee and participants, and, in collaboration with Caryn Kuebler, research associate, prepared and revised the report on the basis of comments from reviewers and workshop participants. We thank Michael Siri for expertly managing all the administrative details and workshop arrangements and for his work on the report itself. Christine McShane’s technical editing substantially improved the report’s readability. Connie Citro, director of CNSTAT, provided guidance and support throughout the project. Kirsten Sampson Snyder guided this report through the review process.

This report has been reviewed in draft form by individuals chosen for their diverse perspectives and technical expertise, in accordance with procedures approved by the Report Review Committee of the National Re-

Suggested Citation:"FrontMatter." National Research Council. 2006. Improving Business Statistics Through Interagency Data Sharing: Summary of a Workshop. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11738.
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search Council. The purpose of this independent review is to provide candid and critical comments that assist the institution in making the published report as sound as possible and to ensure that the report meets institutional standards for objectivity, evidence, and responsiveness to the study charge. The review comments and draft manuscript remain confidential to protect the integrity of the deliberative process.

We wish to thank the following individuals for their participation in the review of this report: Katharine G. Abraham, Joint Program in Survey Methodology, University of Maryland; Daniel R. Feenberg, Information and Research Systems, National Bureau of Economic Research, Cambridge, MA; and Sanders Korenman, School of Public Affairs, Baruch College of the City University of New York.

The review of this report was overseen by Julia Lane, National Opinion Research Center and the University of Chicago. Although the individuals listed above have provided constructive comments and suggestions, responsibility for the final content of this report rests entirely with the National Academies.

Charles Schultze, Chair

Steering Committee for the Workshop on the Benefits of Interagency Business Data Sharing

Suggested Citation:"FrontMatter." National Research Council. 2006. Improving Business Statistics Through Interagency Data Sharing: Summary of a Workshop. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11738.
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U.S. business data are used broadly, providing the building blocks for key national—as well as regional and local—statistics measuring aggregate income and output, employment, investment, prices, and productivity. Beyond aggregate statistics, individual- and firm-level data are used for a wide range of microanalyses by academic researchers and by policy makers. In the United States, data collection and production efforts are conducted by a decentralized system of statistical agencies. This apparatus yields an extensive array of data that, particularly when made available in the form of microdata, provides an unparalleled resource for policy analysis and research on social issues and for the production of economic statistics. However, the decentralized nature of the statistical system also creates challenges to efficient data collection, to containment of respondent burden, and to maintaining consistency of terms and units of measurement. It is these challenges that raise to paramount importance the practice of effective data sharing among the statistical agencies.

With this as the backdrop, the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) asked the Committee on National Statistics of the National Academies to convene a workshop to discuss interagency business data sharing. The workshop was held October 21, 2005.

This report is a summary of the discussions of that workshop. The workshop focused on the benefits of data sharing to two groups of stakeholders: the statistical agencies themselves and downstream data users. Presenters were asked to highlight untapped opportunities for productive data sharing that cannot yet be exploited because of regulatory or legislative constraints. The most prominently discussed example was that of tax data needed to reconcile the two primary business lists use by the statistical agencies.

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