Morris Hansen Lecture

Register for free to attend the 32nd Annual Morris Hansen Lecture on Thursday, Sept. 26, 2024, from 3:30 – 5:30 p.m. EDT at USDA’s Jefferson Auditorium in the South Building located at 1400 Independence Ave. SW, Washington D.C. The topic of the event is "Challenges in Measuring Income and Poverty: Why Is It So Hard? Why Is It So Important?" A reception will follow from 5:30 – 6:30 p.m. EDT on the Whitten Patio. Registration is required for this event.

We are honored to have as Keynote Speaker Dr. Constance F. Citro, a Senior Scholar with the Committee on National Statistics. The discussants will be Dr. Marina Gindelsky, a Research Economist for the Office of the Chief Economist at the Bureau of Economic Analysis, and Dr. Jonathan Rothbaum, a Research Economist in the Social, Economic, and Housing Statistics Division at the U.S. Census Bureau.

Keynote Abstract

Income and poverty status are among the most important indicators of household economic well-being that the federal statistical system produces. Income is also one of the most difficult items to obtain by asking people, and current income statistics from surveys such as the Current Population Survey Annual Social and Economic Supplement (CPS ASEC) are flawed by unit and item nonresponse, coverage error, and item misreporting. Promising developments to produce improved household income statistics include the Bureau of Economic Analysis’s experimental program of household distributions of Personal Income and the Census Bureau’s National Experimental Wellbeing Statistics (NEWS) program, which is intended to improve the quality of the CPS ASEC statistics. Both efforts involve "blended data," including surveys and administrative records.

This talk will take a historical, organizational, and statistical perspective on the measurement of income and poverty in the United States, from the first hesitant foray into collecting household income (wages and all other income) in the 1940 census to the NEWS program today. The historical record is one of intermittent bursts of policy interest in improved income and poverty measures coupled with efforts by the Census Bureau and other agencies to respond, followed by retreats on the policy front with changes in agendas and retreats on the statistical front as evidence grew of increasing inability or unwillingness of respondents to provide complete data. We are hopefully in a period of sustained effort toward improved measures in terms of relevance, accuracy, and granularity that can shed light on overall levels and trends and, more importantly, on how different groups of the population are faring.

Conference Details

Date: Thursday, Sept. 26, 2024
Time: 3:30 p.m. - 6:30 p.m. EDT

A reception at USDA’s Whitten Building (across Independence Avenue) will follow the event.

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Last Modified: 08/16/2024