Ironically, the Information Age poses threats to the official statistics and information infrastructure that we rely on to guide our most important policy, business, and personal decisions. The outcomes of our laws and decisions can only be as sound as the data that informs them.
Statistical agencies are confronting falling survey response rates, poor funding, privacy concerns, and attacks on their independence. We’re facing a slow-moving problem that’s quickly headed toward crisis unless we intervene and retool our data infrastructure. At the same time, new data sources, cheap hardware, and novel software are generating big opportunities that we can capitalize on in the very near term.
To craft a 21st-century national data infrastructure, Cornell ILR School’s Erica Groshen says we need to create new, blended data statistical products and adopt data standards to meet these myriad challenges. There’s a path forward, but it’ll take strong political will and a national focus to correct the course.
