Government information Quarterly
Volume 4, Number 3, 1987
Discussion Forum:
Superintendent of Documents--Some Apparant Misunderstandings
Peter Hernon .................................................... 213
Introduction
John G. Keane .................................................... 219
U.S. Economic Censuses, 1810 to the Present
Frederick G. Bohme ................................................... 221
Uses of Economic Census Data
Gaylord Worden ............................................................ 245
Determining the Contents of the Economic Censuses
John R. Wikoff and Pam Powell-Hill ......................... 261
Conducting the Economic Censuses
Lawrence A. Blum, James E. Bowman, and John M. Sullivan ... 283
Making Economic Census Data Available
Paul T. Zeisset ...................................... 303
Economic Censuses Around the World
Michael J. Hartz, James M. Ray, and Linda A. Schlueter ............. 325
Contributors ...................................................... 341
U.S. Economic Censuses,
1810 to the Present
FREDERICK G. BOHME
The economic censuses reflect growing industrialization and the spread of commu- nications in the United States since the early nineteenth century. Temporary organi- zations took these censuses with increasing detail almost every IO years from 1810 to 1900. Demands for more frequent enumerations and current data were major factors in the establishment of a permanent census office in 1902. The twentieth century featured censuses of manufactures every 2 years and later at 5-year intervals, and the addition of quinquennial censuses of retail and wholesale trade, service industries, construction, and transportation. In the 1950s, the censuses were integrated to ensure complete, unduplicated, comparable data for all of their components. Enumeration was increasingly by mail and, for small establishments, by the use of administrative records in lieu of retums. The introduction of mechanical and, later, electronic tabulation increased the variety of data products available.
The comprehensive economic censuses conducted by the Bureau of the Census at 5-year intervals are the foundation of the nation's economic statistics programs. These censuses play a critical role in allowing millions of private and public decision makers to make more informed economic plans and decisions. The uses of these data are limited only by the failures of human imagination. This article describes briefly some of the principal uses of the economic censuses.
Responsibility for determining the contents of the economic censuses is vested by Title 13 of the United States Code in the Secretary of Commerce, who has delegated this authority to the Director of the Census Bureau. In selecting the questions for the hundreds of industry-specific questionnaires used to conduct the censuses, the Bureau consults with a wide spectrum of representatives of the public and private sectors to ensure that the broad purposes of the censuses are met without undue cost and burden to the business community. Various criteria are used in the content evaluation and review process. The scope of content of the censuses have changed over time and will continue to evolve as the nation's economy changes. The growing importance of service industries and international trade and the loss of administrative statistics from previously regulated industries present new data needs for the 1987 and future censuses.
Conducting the economic censuses successfully requires systematic planning and cooperation among many Census Bureau organizational units in every stage of operation through the final publication of the results. While large companies complete industry-specific questionnaires about their operations, the censuses are conducted more efficiently, at less cost, and with less burden on the small business community by using data from administrative records of other Federal agencies. Due to major improvements in data processing techniques, the results of the latest censuses, which covered calendar year 1982, were released earlier than ever before. For 1987, the Census Bureau plans further improvements in its processing system, with the goal of still earlier release of data.
Data from the i982 Economic Censuses were published in printed reports, computer tape files, and microfiche. This article discusses how the census results are published and how the data reach the people who need them. The article also speculates about what may be in store for users of data from the 1987 censuses.
An economic census can be the major source of statistics on the economic activities of a country. Developed countries with well-developed statistical infrastructures have a long history of economic census-taking. For other countries, particularly those with a developing economy and infrastructure, the resources and expertise required to conduct an economic census are not present. Despite this, developing countries are recognizing the importance of an economic census program. Some of these countries have undertaken a full economic census in recent years, while others have limited their census activities to sectors of particular importance. Organizations, such as the Agency for International Development and the World Bank, have provided some assistance to developing nations that are contemplating conducting a complete census by developing standard questionnaires and both tabulation and programming modules, in addition to providing technical assistance and training programs.
Lawrence A. Blum is Assistant Division Chief for Directory Development and Operations in the Census Bureau's Economic Surveys Division. Hejoined the Bureau in 1967, after graduating from Utica College of Syracuse University with a B.S. in mathematics. He has been involved in all phases of the economic censuses and is currently in charge of the operations and processing supported by the Standard Statistical Establishment List.