Reengineering the Census Bureau's Annual Economic Surveys (2018) / Chapter Skim
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2 What Data Users Want, Need, and Use
2 What Data Users Want, Need, and Use
Pages 19-38
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From page 19... ...
Rather, the production of relevant data is spread across multiple agencies -- primarily, the Census Bureau, the 19
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Other statistical agencies rely on data from the economic censuses and the annual economic surveys to benchmark their own data series. Internal to the Census Bureau, data from the annual economic surveys play a key role, along with the quinquennial economic censuses, in benchmarking the Bureau's monthly and quarterly economic indicator series.
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E Putting the many suggestions and recommendations for improvements in the Census Bureau's annual economic surveys into a digestible form required an organizing framework. Statistical agencies in the United States and abroad, building on a seminal paper by Brackstone (1999)
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Based on these models, the panel adopted the framework shown in Box 2-1 to organize what we heard about the needs of data users as they pertain to the Census Bureau's annual economic surveys. We use the five dimensions of accuracy, timeliness, relevance, consistency, and accessibility to structure the remainder of the chapter's discussion.
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The Census Bureau's annual economic surveys collect data from many fewer businesses than the economic censuses, but are sufficiently large to provide detailed industry data at the national level. Although not as comprehensive as the economic censuses, they are used as benchmarks for the annual GDP updates, as well as for data series produced by other statistical agencies.
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Real GDP and the personal consumption expenditures measure of inflation, both derived from the ational n accounts, are key inputs to the Federal Reserve Board's data-driven monetary policy. More than $320 billion in federal funds are allocated using regional BEA personal income and GDP data that are benchmarked to and extrapolated from the annual economic surveys.2 States and localities throughout the United States use the BEA regional data for budget projections and the allocation of funds.
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Through their effects on interest rates, exchange rates, and stock and bond prices, these data affect everyone who invests in financial markets, buys a home, borrows for a car, or purchases imported goods and services. While data users have high regard for the accuracy of Census Bureau economic data, revisions to Census Bureau estimates and to GDP and other data series that rely on Census Bureau data are cited by many of them as a concern.
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With the exception of data from the preliminary Service Annual Survey report, data from the annual economic surveys -- including the Annual Survey of Manufactures, the Annual Retail Trade Survey, and the Annual Wholesale Trade Survey -- currently are not available in time for the first annual revision of data series, such as GDP, but only in time for the second annual revision. The Census Bureau's recent work to accelerate the release of its principal economic indicators illustrates the returns to more accurate and timely
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From page 27... ...
If this acceleration could be accomplished through process improvement without diminishing data quality, as was achieved for the monthly economic indicator surveys, according to Census Bureau staff in a meeting with the panel, it would substantially improve the accuracy of the GDP and other estimates benchmarked to the annual economic surveys. It may not be possible to complete the full annual survey data releases as quickly as users might like, but it might be feasible to release key topline data on an accelerated schedule, with additional data provided in a later second release.
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Users also would value the announcement of scheduled release dates for the annual survey estimates on an easily accessible calendar. 2.4 RELEVANCE Data from the Census Bureau's annual economic surveys are only one component of a larger set of data sources relied on by users who seek information about the economy to inform their decisions.
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Although it is unlikely that the Census Bureau could ever meet all of the desires of users for very local and customized data, participants in the June 2016 meeting did suggest that the Census Bureau could be doing more to leverage "big data" and private-public partnerships to create estimates of economic activity that better meet data users' needs for timely and disaggregated data. The panel acknowledges that such partnerships may not be easy to develop, but it believes the idea merits consideration.
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CONCLUSION 2-3: The Census Bureau's current annual eco nomic surveys do not satisfy data users' strongly expressed interests in more detailed information for geographic areas, for services industries, and for new and expanding industries, especially in information technology. 2.4.3 Gaps in Subject Coverage In addition to lacking geographic detail and enough industry detail, the current annual economic surveys provide no information for some important industries and enterprise or establishment characteristics.
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Researchers and statistical agencies have responded by going beyond the old approach of treating all growth that cannot be accounted for by measured factors as a residual measure of the impact of innovation, to more directly measuring innovation and its impact on growth (see, e.g., Corrado, Hulten, and Sichel, 2009; United ations et al., 2009)
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companies. Supplements to the Census Bureau's annual economic surveys would be one way (although not the only way)
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As described by Census Bureau staff in presentations and materials provided to the panel, the 11 annual economic surveys reviewed by the panel use different item definitions, reporting units, methodologies, processes, and systems and other infrastructure. Moreover, the data are released with different time lags.
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From page 34... ...
However, with careful planning, the impact of these kinds of discontinuities on the data can be minimized. Including plans for the construction of bridge tables, higher-level aggregates, and historical time series resting on a new coding structure will be important in any reengineering of the annual economic surveys.
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2.7 CONSULTATION WITH DATA USERS ON AN ABSS During the June 2016 panel meeting, the idea of an ABSS was introduced to data users. They responded favorably to this suggestion, seeing the advantages of enhanced consistency, timeliness, and relevance that a well-implemented redesign of the annual economic surveys could provide.
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As decisions about an ABSS are made, ongoing consultation with users will be important to ensuring that a redesign of the current annual economic surveys meets their needs. RECOMMENDATION 2-1: The Census Bureau should develop a process for regularly updating the data user community about plans for an Annual Business Survey System (ABSS)
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From page 37... ...
. Operational Excellence: Accelerating the Census Bureau's Economic Indiators Improves Accuracy, Timeliness of Commerce Data.
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From page 38... ...
. Guidelines on Integrated Economic Statistics.
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