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Activity Number:
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234
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Type:
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Invited
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Date/Time:
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Monday, August 3, 2009 : 4:00 PM to 5:50 PM
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Sponsor:
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ASA
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| Abstract - #303138 |
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Title:
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Measurement Matters: Why Good Statistics Are Important to Understanding the Well-Being of American Families
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Author(s):
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Rebecca M. Blank*+
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Companies:
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Under Secretary for Economic Affairs, US Department of Commerce
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Address:
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, Washington, DC, 20036,
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Keywords:
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Abstract:
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Proposed new or reformed social policy is often justified by the claim that it improves the well-being of American families. To confirm this claim requires a set of statistics that provide credible information about well-being. This talk will evaluate some of our current statistics, particularly the measures of poverty and income that we regularly use, and discuss what they do and don't tell us about well-being. The limitations of existing U.S. statistical measures has affected the political conversation and even led to misinterpreting the policy record at times. It is particularly interesting to compare the U.S. to the European Union, which has initiated the collection of a number of new statistics aimed at measuring well-being. New statistical initiatives to better measure well-being are much needed in the U.S.
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- The address information is for the authors that have a + after their name.
- Authors who are presenting talks have a * after their name.
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