Politics of Numbers CB (Population of the United States in the 1980s : A Census Monograph Series) - Hardcover

Alonso/Starr

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0871540150 ISBN 13: 9780871540157

Publisher: Russell Sage Foundation, 1987

Synopsis

The Politics of Numbers is the first major study of the social and political forces behind the nation's statistics. In more than a dozen essays, its editors and authors look at the controversies and choices embodied in key decisions about how we count—in measuring the state of the economy, for example, or enumerating ethnic groups. They also examine the implications of an expanding system of official data collection, of new computer technology, and of the shift of information resources into the private sector.

A Volume in the Russell Sage Foundation Census Series

About this title

Synopsis:

This series is aimed at converting the vast statistical yield of the 1980 census into independent, authoritative analyses of major changes and trends in American life. The politics of numbers resembles the other volumes in that its point of departure is the US census, however, it differs from them by going far beyond census data to an examination of the compilation and analysis of other offical data as well. It is the only volume in this series devoted to the governmental data system itself, rather than to the information contained in that data. It is the first major study of the social and political forces behind America's offical statistics. In fourteen essays its editors and authors look at the controversies and choices embedded in key decisions about how the American political establishment counts - in measuring the economy, comparing Soviet and American military budgets or enumerating ethnic groups. It has become just as important to study the intricate political processes involved in defining collecting, analysing and managing official statistics as it is to examine the statistics themselves.

About the Author:

WILLIAM ALONSO is at Harvard University.

PAUL STARR is at Princeton University.

About this edition

• Publisher: Russell Sage Foundation
• Publication date: 1987
• ISBN 10: 0871540150
• ISBN 13: 9780871540157
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 487