Here are some new data announcements provided at the recent RDC Conference in SLC.  Please contact Bob if you would like to learn more.

Harvard University economist Dr. Claudia Goldin, winner of the 2023 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences, utilized U.S. Census Bureau data that were available as a result of her fruitful relationship with the Boston Federal Statistical Research Data Center (FSRDC).

The prize was awarded to Dr. Goldin on October 9 for her work illuminating the wage disparity over time between men and women in the labor market. Some of Dr. Goldin’s recent research utilized decennial census data and the Longitudinal Employer Household Dynamics (LEHD), data she accessed through the FSRDC, showcasing how valuable the partnership is between the Census Bureau and researchers.

“The unique relationship fostered by the FSRDCs enables incredible scholarly and often very important research. Dr. Goldin’s work is a great example of what was envisioned in the FSRDCs’ creation,” said Nate Ramsey, director of the FSRDC program. Dr. Goldin worked with the Boston FSRDC, which is set to celebrate its 30th anniversary next year and was the first research data center established.

The Census Bureau operates 33 Federal Statistical Research Data Centers. The FSRDCs are important networks between federal statistical agencies and leading research institutions designed to provide secure environments supporting qualified researchers using restricted-access data while protecting respondent confidentiality. Access to these data can lead to important and groundbreaking work like Dr. Goldin’s research.

One component of Dr. Goldin’s Nobel Prize winning research agenda began in 2017 inside the FSRDCs. Dr. Goldin and other FSRDC scholars—including Wellesley College’s Sari Kerr and Dartmouth College’s Claudia Olivetti—researched and published findings on the gender earnings gap based on LEHD and decennial census data.

Their work showed the gap in women’s pay with male counterparts begins to grow when they marry and when they have children and continues to do so, widening sharply as they move through their 20s and 30s into their 40s. (Two separate studies looked at this issue of the price of being female. One showed the impact of marriage on women; the other showed the impact of becoming a parent.)

LEHD labor supply and earnings data revealed that both labor supply and earnings gaps grow significantly after the arrival of the first child. Over time, mothers catch up to nonmothers, but neither group ever catches up to men – and earnings grow most rapidly for fathers. This disparity appeared in all professions the researchers studied but was more acute in some areas, such as the field of finance.

“Dr. Goldin’s work shows how the FSRDCs play a crucial role in providing access into topics like the nation’s economy,” said Ramsey. “Through these relationships, we’re hoping to connect even more researchers with the FSRDCs who will similarly see the enormous value of using Census Bureau data in their work.”

This study examines the impact of access to confidential administrative data on the rate, direction, and policy relevance of economics research. To study this question, we exploit the progressive geographic expansion of the U.S. Census Bureau’s Federal Statistical Research Data Centers (FSRDCs). FSRDCs boost data diffusion, help empirical researchers publish more articles in top outlets, and increase citation-weighted publications. Besides direct data usage, spillovers to non-adopters also drive this effect. Further, citations to exposed researchers in policy documents increase significantly. Our findings underscore the importance of data access for scientific progress and evidence-based policy formulation.

https://www.nber.org/papers/w31372

2023 Federal Statistical Research Data Center Annual Research Conference — Call for Papers

The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System will host the 2023 Federal Statistical Research Data Center (FSRDC) Annual Research Conference on Friday, September 22, 2023.

The Federal Reserve Board invites proposals to present papers at the 2023 FSRDC Annual Research Conference. The conference will be a day of concurrent paper sessions and a keynote presentation.

Submitted papers should be based on current or recent research using data from the nationwide network of FSRDCs. We welcome research topics in the fields of economics, business and management, demography, health, and developments in data sets. Papers should involve statistical analyses on nonpublic versions of data sets available from the U.S. Census Bureau, the National Center for Health Statistics, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, and other federal statistical agencies.

For paper presentations please submit your paper or an abstract of up to 500 words describing your research question, the data used (including sponsoring agency), methodology, and summary of results. Results can be anticipated or preliminary if they are not yet finalized. As a reminder, results need to have undergone disclosure avoidance review and must be approved for release. The abstract should include a presentation title and a list of all authors and their affiliations. Also, please provide an email address for the contact author.

Submit the paper or abstract and other requested information to RDC-Conference-2023@frb.gov.

Deadline for submissions is Friday, June 23, 2023. Notices of acceptance will be sent by Friday, July 14, 2023.

Please feel free to distribute this call for papers to other colleagues who may be interested.

Organizing committee: Kimberly Bayard (Federal Reserve Board), Logan Lewis (Federal Reserve Board), Norman Morin (Federal Reserve Board), Emily Wisniewski (U.S. Census Bureau), and Rebecca Zarutskie (Federal Reserve Board).

Conference attendance: Researchers who would like to request an invitation to attend should email RDC-Conference-2023@frb.gov and, space permitting, they will be sent the registration information.

The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System will also host a day of FSRDC business meetings on September 21, 2023, which will include FSRDC Executive Directors, federal agency partners, Census Bureau staff, and other stakeholders. There will be a separate registration process for this by-invitation meeting.

Here you can find recordings of FRDC Presentations.

https://www.census.gov/data/academy/webinars/series/fsrdc.All.List_807867200.html#list-tab-List_807867200

2023 WiscRDC Small Grant Competition

Request for Proposals: deadline 03/31/2023

The WiscRDC (https://rdc.wisc.edu/) is pleased to announce a grant competition to support 4–6 projects using data at WiscRDC. This competition is supported by the University of Wisconsin–Madison Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research and Graduate Education (OVCRGE) with funding from the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF).

Research Focus
Proposals on all topics are invited, as long as the proposal uses data available at WiscRDC.

Eligibility
All graduate students, faculty, and researchers on all UW campuses are invited to apply. Grants can be single– or multi–investigator.

Budget
Grants will range in value from $15–45K, depending on the proposed duration of the project (regular access fee to WiscRDC is $15K per project per year). Awarded funds will be paid directly to WiscRDC in the form of access fee.

Application Process
By 03/31/2023, please submit to Dr. Yang Wang (ywang26@wisc.edu) your CV and a 2–3 page proposal that contains:

• Specific Aims
• Significance
• Innovation
• Data, including details on which datasets at WiscRDC will be used
• Methods
• Timeline

In the subject line, please include your name and “Proposal for WiscRDC Small Grant”.

Selection Criteria
Proposals will be evaluated for

•  Use of WiscRDC data 
• Potential impact of research
• Probability of continued use of WiscRDC data in future projects
• Credentials of investigators.

Early investigators and researchers who are new to WiscRDC are particularly encouraged to apply.

Notice of Final Decision
Final decisions will be made by 05/31/2023

The Annual Integrated Economic Survey (AIES) is a re-engineered survey designed to integrate and replace seven existing annual business surveys into a streamlined single survey instrument. It is designed to be easier for businesses to complete, result in better and more timely data, and allow the Census Bureau to operate more efficiently to reduce costs. The AIES will provide key yearly measures of economic activity including the only comprehensive national and subnational data on business revenues, expenses, and assets on an annual basis.  We plan to conduct the AIES annually, starting in 2024.

The existing surveys integrated into the AIES include:

• Annual Retail Trade Survey (ARTS)
• Annual Wholesale Trade Survey (AWTS)
• Service Annual Survey (SAS)
• Annual Survey of Manufactures (ASM)
• Annual Capital Expenditures Survey (ACES)
• Manufacturers’ Unfilled Orders Survey (M3UFO)
• Report of Organization (COS).

It is a company-based survey that:

• Covers domestic, nonfarm employer businesses with operations during the survey year.
• Samples approximately 380,000 small, medium, and large companies.
• Includes most industries across the economy; and
• Spans most geographic areas of the United States, including all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

Annual Integrated Economic Survey (census.gov)