http://www.northwestern.edu/ipr/people/spencer.html"
bspencer@northwestern.edu
Professor of Statistics
Department Chair
Ph.D., 1979, Yale University
I study the production and use of public statistics, particularly in policy-laden contexts. For example, should an organization (such as the Federal government) spend more money (or less) on statistical programs such as the decennial census? Such a question requires an interdisciplinary attack, and I have focused on questions such as (i) how are the data used, (ii) what is the quality (including accuracy, relevance, timeliness, etc.) of the data, (iii) how would changes in the quality affect uses, and (iv) how can we assign measures of value to those effects. I work actively with government agencies on major statistical programs and conduct related research in sampling theory and methods, particularly weighting. I am currently assessing the accuracy of population forecasts and trying to get the government to provide stochastic estimates of uncertainty along with their forecasts, such as Social Security forecasts. I am also working with the Census Bureau on how to estimate population and how to evaluate the accuracy of their estimates. With support from The Searle Fund, I am analyzing the accuracy of randomized social experiments, in particular the Head Start Impact Study.
Books.
Statistics and Public Policy. (editor) Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1997.
Benefit-Cost Analysis of Data Used to Allocate Funds. New York: Springer,
1980.
A link to my IPR homepage: http://www.northwestern.edu/ipr/people/spencer.html
