EconData.Net
What's New-December, 1999

NEW LINKS ADDED

Yes. We've discovered even more sources of regional data on the Web. You'll now find over two dozen new links on EconData.Net, including, by topic:

  • Demographics - regional demographic trends from the Population Reference Bureau, and Census Bureau statistics on foreign-born residents.
  • Transfer payments - state welfare data from the Urban Institute and the Welfare Information Network, and statistics on participation in the USDA's Food Stamp Program. (Category: Income)
  • Business Activity and Conditions - The Brandow Company's rating of states for business retention and migration. (Category: Output and Trade)
  • Quality of Life - profiles of how well people live in 100 U.S. cities, from the Wall Street Journal.
  • Venture Capital - a searchable database of venture capital investments since 1997, courtesy of the San Jose Mercury News. (Category: Economic Assets)
  • Environment - environmental indicators from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency down to the zip code level, Sierra Club ratings of state efforts to halt urban sprawl, environmental conservation data from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and climate data from the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration. (Category: Quality of Life)
  • Health - rankings of 6,300 hospitals and 271 HMOs by U.S. News & World Report. (Category: Quality of Life)

STAT-SCAN: The Latest Data News
This Month: Census and BEA

STAT-SCAN will be a regular feature of our Newsletter, letting you know about upcoming developments in the world of regional data. Capsule summaries are here; the full story is at the end of the newsletter.

Bureau of the Census
American Community Survey - More Communities Added, New CD-ROM Released
Implementation of the Census Bureau's American Community Survey (ACS) is moving forward. Intended to provide up-to-date socioeconomic data similar to that has been collected only once every ten years in the Decennial Census, the ACS is now being carried out in 31 demonstration sites around the U.S. While ACS data will not be available nationwide until 2004, your community may be one of the lucky ones to get annual updates down to the block group level. The Census Bureau is about to release a CD-ROM of data collected on the nine communities that have participated through 1998. Is your community on the list? Never heard of the ACS and want to know more? Check out the full article below.

Bureau of Economic Analysis
Regional Economic Information System - Revision Increases Personal Income, Release Dates Move Up
As a result of the recent revision in its national income and product accounts, the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) will be making corresponding adjustments in its popular Regional Economic Information System (REIS) data series. REIS provides annual personal income data (including per capita income) for states, counties, and metro areas. A change in the treatment of government pension funds will cause state and local personal income to be revised upwards. Also, of major import to REIS fans, BEA is substantially accelerating its REIS release schedule. Get the details in the article below.

REVIEWERS PRAISE ECONDATA.NET

We'd like to share some of the comments we've gotten in the past few weeks since launching the new and expanded version of EconData.Net. Regular users have almost unanimously liked our new easy-to-use site with drop down menus and new subject organization. Independent reviewers have this to say:

American Demographics Magazine (December, 1999) says: "For those interested in demographics and economics, this may be the last site you ever have to remember. There are so many links to government, private and academic data sources, you could literally spend hours searching this page."

WebPointers called EconData.Net "a brilliant example of a site that brings order to the chaos" of the Internet. They called EconData.Net a model of how to organize data: "Even if you have no interest in economic data, you won't be wasting time looking at this site to see how information can be made more valuable and useful just by organization." (November 1, 1999)

Site Selection Magazine, an influential guide to economic development resources, made EconData.Net its Editor's Choice Web Pick (October 25, 1999). They called Econ.Data.Net "a lollapalooza of a gateway for local and regional economic analysis," and gives us "high marks for making navigable a vast stretch of data sources that could have been impenetrable."

EconData.Net has also been listed by the Internet Scout Project for Business & Economics, (October 21, 1999) a leading guide to business news and information on the Internet.

OUR ASSESSMENT REPORT ON SOCIOECONOMIC DATA IS AVAILABLE

Our report Socioeconomic Data for Economic Development: An Assessment is now available in print. The report offers a detailed 200-page analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of the current federal data system, and recommendations for improving the relevance, timeliness and accessibility of socioeconomic data for economic development, planning and related purposes.
The study, carried out for the U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA), was based on a survey of over 600 data users (we thank those of you who participated), five focus groups, and over 20 telephone interviews. The report provides:
* an explanation of the federal system for producing regional socioeconomic data, including key agencies, coordination mechanisms, operating guidelines, and recent critiques;
* an extensive profile of socioeconomic data users, based on the survey results;
* data user ratings and comments on over 50 federal and other data series and sources;
* findings concerning many practitioners' lack of education about data resources, the complexity of the federal system, insufficient federal budgets for regional data, and the lack of ongoing communication between data users and providers; and
* recommendations for actions to address these concerns by federal statistical agencies, the Office of Management and Budget, EDA, and the trade associations that represent data users.

The Assessment Report is a call to action for data users to get more
involved in working with federal statistical agencies to continuously
improve the availability of statistics.

You'll find a ".pdf" file with the complete contents of the report on our website at www.EconData.Net/pdf/report.pdf. You can download just the 11-page executive summary, too: www.EconData.Net/pdf/summary.pdf.

YOUR COMMENTS WELCOME

Help us make EconData.Net even better. Please let us know how you use EconData.Net. Suggest new links to include on the site. Pose questions about where you can find socioeconomic data. Tell us what you think of this newsletter. Email us at: info@econdata.net.

STAT-SCAN: THE FULL STORIES

Bureau of the Census
Current Events in the American Community Survey - More Communities Added, New CD-ROM Released

Perhaps the most common data complaint we come across is that the U.S. Census Bureau's social and economic data at the community, neighborhood, and block level are way out of date. These data have been collected but once every ten years, most recently in 1990, through the "long form" of the Decennial Census mailed to about one-sixth of U.S. households. Recognizing that current small area data are vital to planners and market researchers, the U.S. Census Bureau is in the midst of implementing the American Community Survey (ACS), which in a few years will provide annual updates of socioeconomic data down to the block group level.

Collected through a questionnaire virtually identical to the "long form", the ACS will provide data on topics such as household income, sources of income, labor force status, sources of employment, occupation, education, commuting patterns, migration patterns, and housing. On its Web site, the Census Bureau tell us:

Communities can use the (ACS) data . . . to track the well-being of children, families, and the elderly; determine where to locate new highways, schools, and hospitals; show a large corporation a town has the workforce the company needs; evaluate programs such as welfare and workforce diversification; and monitor and publicize program results.

Direct data estimates will be made annually for all areas and population groups of 65,000 or greater. For smaller areas, multi-year estimates will be made (e.g., estimates for the 2005-2007 period), because the sample size for small areas is too small to make an accurate estimate for a single year. (The ACS will be sent to about the same proportion of U.S. households as the Decennial Census, but over a period of five years rather than at one point in time.) Each year, the sample from the oldest year will be dropped and that for the newest year added on. The smaller the area, the more years in the multi-year estimate. For areas of under 15,000, estimates covering a five-year period will be made. Unlike the Decennial Census, the ACS will provide data in a range, not a point estimate. Data tables will indicate, for example, that there is a 90 percent probability that reality is somewhere between the two end points of the range.

The development and implementation of the ACS is a large-scale undertaking that will take over a decade to unfold. A large amount of time is needed for two reasons. First, the Census Bureau needs to test and refine its methodology, and put its system of collection and analysis in place. Second, once the ACS goes nationwide, it needs five years to build the sample size to generate estimates for the smallest areas. The Census Bureau began the ACS implementation process in 1996. By 2004, ACS data will be available for all states and large metro areas; by 2007, for all areas and population groups of 65,000 or more; and by 2011, for areas with fewer than 15,000 people.

The Census Bureau began its testing of the ACS in four areas in 1996; as of 1999, the number of demonstration sites had been expanded to 31. Annually, Census releases a CD-ROM containing all publicly available ACS data. Here's a list of the 31 sites-check it out, your area may be on it:
1. Pima County, AZ
2. Jefferson County, AR
3. San Francisco County, CA
4. Tulare County, CA
5. Broward County, FL
6. Upson County, GA
7. Black Hawk County, IA
8. Lake County, IL
9. Miami County, IN
10. De Soto Parish, LA
11. Calvert County, MD
12. Hampden County, MA
13. Madison County, MS
14. Iron, Reynolds, and Washington Counties, MO
15. Flathead and Lake Counties, MT
16. Douglas County, NE
17. Bronx Borough, NY
18. Rockland County, NY
19. Otero County, NM
20. Franklin County, OH
21. Multnomah County, OR
22. Fulton County, PA
23. Schuylkill County, PA
24. Sevier County, TN
25. Harris & Fort Bend Counties, TX
26. Starr County, TX
27. Zapata County, TX
28. Petersburg, VA
29. Yakima County, WA
30. Ohio County, WV
31. Oneida and Vilas Counties, WI

In early January, 2000, the Census Bureau will release the CD-ROM with information from the 1998 ACS on the following communities (with data available for each year the community has participated in the ACS):
1. Broward County, FL
2. Douglas County, NE
3. Otero County, NM
4. Rockland County, NY
5. Franklin County, OH
6. Multnomah County, OR
7. Fulton County, PA
8. Kershaw-Richland counties, SC
9. Fort Bend-Harris Counties, TX

The new CD-ROM, with its own software, allows the user to access information in both narrative and tabular format. Data on the CD-ROM are provided in three formats to view and print: community profiles; more detailed summary tables similar to those from the 1990 decennial census; and public-use microdata files that allow the user to create custom tables for research purposes. A copy of the ACS questionnaire is provided on the CD-ROM, along with information about the methods, concepts, and definitions the survey uses and technical documentation related to the data.
While not finalized yet, it appears that about 20 of the 31 ACS sites from 1999 will be published in the July-December 2000 period. This is largely due to small sample sizes that result in data sets that do not meet the Census Bureau's stringent confidentiality requirements.
Resources:
1. The Census Bureau's Web site on the ACS has substantial detail on purpose, methodology, and schedule, can be reached at: http://www.census.gov/CMS/www/.
2. To obtain a free copy of the 1998 CD-ROM, or to ask questions about the ACS, call 1-888-456-7215 or send an e-mail to acs@census.gov.

Bureau of Economic Analysis
Regional Economic Information System - Revision Increases Personal Income, Release Dates Move Up

As a result of the recent revision in its national income and product accounts (NIPA's), the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) will be making corresponding adjustments in its popular Regional Economic Information System (REIS) data series. REIS provides annual personal income data (including per capita income) for states, counties, and metro areas. A change in the treatment of government pension funds will cause state and local personal income to be revised upwards. Moreover, of major import for REIS fans, BEA is substantially accelerating its REIS release schedule.

In October, the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) issued a comprehensive revision of its national income and product accounts (NIPA), on which well-known measures such as Gross Domestic Product (GDP) are based. Comprehensive revisions, which are prepared every 4 to 5 years, are an important part of BEA's regular process for improving and modernizing its accounts to keep pace with the ever-changing U.S. economy.

This coming spring, BEA will release state (1969-99) and local area (1969-98) personal income data that reflect the comprehensive revision of the NIPA's. (REIS employment series will be released simultaneously.) The schedule represents a significant shift forward in the availability of REIS data. State estimates will be released on May 17, 2000, nearly half a year sooner than for previous comprehensive revisions; local area (county, metro, other substate) estimates will be released June 15, 2000, about a year sooner.

The REIS data will reflect several revisions. Most importantly, government employee retirement plans will now be treated the same as private pension plans. Specifically, employer contributions to government pension plans, and the interest and dividends received by those plans, will be considered personal income; at the same time, retirement payments to individuals will be removed from personal income. As a result of these changes, estimates of personal income will be revised upwards. In addition, updated source data will be incorporated for all state and county series.

Resources:

1. To learn more about BEA personal income data, download data files, and view county-specific data tables covering the latest five years, see http://www.bea.doc.gov/bea/regional/data.htm.
2. To obtain place-specific REIS data from 1969-latest year, see the query-based system maintained by the Geospatial & Statistical Center at the University of Virginia, at http://fisher.lib.virginia.edu/reis/index.html.
3. For information on BEA's comprehensive revision of NIPA's, see http://www.bea.doc.gov/bea/bench.htm.
4. To ask questions of BEA staff about personal income data, write to reis.remd@bea.doc.gov.

 

October 1999

EconData.Net's New Look: As you can see, we've completely overhauled EconData.Net. We've given the site a new, more user-friendly multi-page format. And our improvements are more than just a pretty face. You'll now find even more listings than before (about 400), with a new list of links by subject that make it easier to find data sources (especially ones you may not already know about).

Liked our old single page site? The one-page listing of all the sites is still here — just click on Quick Links. If you know what you're looking for, you'll find all our content on one compressed, fast-loading page.

Register now to get EconData.Net updates. Periodically, we'll be informing data users about new data series, the latest web-based data tools, and other developments in the world of data for regional economic analysis. To stay in the know, click on Register and tell us you want to hear from us.

Know a site we should list? As proud as we are of the breadth of our listings, we know that there are sites out there we don't have. Send us an e-mail at comments@econdata.net, and we'll add your suggestion to EconData.Net. (Remember, we're looking for sites that provide data for state or sub-state areas across the United States.)