14 September 2011
For more information, please contact:
Melissa Golding, NABE Press Officer, 571-236-2820
Maurine Haver, Chair, NABE Statistics Committee, and President, Haver Analytics, 212-986-9300

 

2012 ECONOMIC CENSUS AT RISK

Congressional funding for the 2012 Economic Census is in jeopardy, and the U.S. Senate Committee on Appropriations is set to mark up the Census Bureau's FY2012 Appropriation tomorrow (September 15). The National Association for Business Economics (NABE) and the American Economic Association (AEA) are co-sponsoring a briefing, "Hi-Beams for the Economic Road Ahead: The Importance of the 2012 Economic Census for Business and Government Decision-Making," on Monday, September 26, 2011, at 12:00pm in the Rayburn House Office Building, Room B-340.

The panel for this event, which will be moderated by Charlie Schultze of the Brookings Institution, includes: Steve Landefeld of the Bureau of Economic Analysis (introduction); Katherine Abraham of the Council of Economic Advisers (Topic: Federal Economic Policy); Tim Maney of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce (Topic: Business/Industry); and Bill Shobe of the University of Virginia Chapter of the Association for University Business and Economic Research (AUBER) (Topic: State and Local Government). U.S. Census Bureau Deputy Director Tom Mesenbourg will also be in attendance to answer questions during the panel discussion and audience Q&A portion of the program. Credentialed members of the media are invited to attend-for registration details, please see the editor's note below.

Reliable business statistics from the Economic Census are critical to the ability of NABE members to assess the condition of the U.S. economy and inform business decisions and policy choices. Maurine Haver, NABE's Statistics Committee chair and president of Haver Analytics, published a column on this issue in the August edition of NABE News, NABE's quarterly member newsletter. Below is an edited version of thecolumn for your use and information in reporting on this matter. Haver is also available for further comment, and may be reached via NABE Press Officer Melissa Golding (571-236-2820) or directly at: 212-986-9300.

From Maurine Haver's "UPDATE ON STATISTICS," column in the August 2011 edition of NABE News:

Tight budgets for our statistical agencies were expected, but the House mark for the Census Bureau came as a complete surprise. A $294 million cut, which would put fiscal year 2012 funding 25 percent below fiscal 2011, would leave the Census Bureau only one alternative-eliminate the 2012 Economic Census to save $124 million in FY 2012.

The last time the Economic Census wasn't funded was during the Eisenhower Administration. The outcry from business and other data users led the Secretary of Commerce to form an Intensive Review Committee to study the issue. The committee's report prompted Congress to pass Title 13 of the U.S. Code in 1954 requiring an Economic Census every five years.

The Economic Census gives us a detailed view of the U.S. economy every five years that provides the basic figures needed to benchmark our most important economic surveys to keep them on track. These data are central to important statistical programs at the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA), the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the Federal Reserve Board and other government and private organizations. According to Dennis Fixler, chief statistician of BEA, "the loss of Economic Census data would halt creation of the benchmark input-output accounts. This would have a major ripple effect to every other economic account within BEA."

The NABE Statistics Committee has begun talking with congressional staff members to explain why the Economic Census is so critical to our national statistical infrastructure. We know many difficult funding decisions need to be made during the forthcoming appropriations process, but maintaining the quality of our economic statistics that inform us about the state of our economy is an exceedingly important priority. The gross domestic product (GDP) revisions in July already demonstrated how important more complete source data can be to the measurement of economic growth. Many of the annual surveys such as the Annual Retail Trade Survey that were incorporated into these revisions are in turn influenced by the Economic Census.

There is no question that the Economic Census is the most important building block to the economic picture, and it must be preserved. It is important that we not sit back while the fundamental data used to inform us about current economic activity is put at risk.

EDITOR'S NOTE: To register for the AEA-NABE Briefing, please contact NABE Press Officer Melissa Golding on 571-236-2820 or melissag@nabe.com.