Back Issues & Abstracts

Article: 

David Zarefsky, Erwin Chemerinsky, and Alan S. Loewinsohn, Government Statistics: The Case for Independent Regulation – A New Legislative Proposal, 59 TEXAS L. REV. 1223 (1981). 

This article considers the perennial accusation that government statistics are distorted.  The authors conclude there is a good deal of truth to this charge.  They argue that government bureaucrats face almost unavoidable pressure to manipulate statistics in ways that cast a favorable light on the existence of or policy goals of their agency.  This has serious consequences inasmuch as it deprives government of the information it needs to function effectively, and also deprives voters of the information they need to hold government officials accountable for their actions.  The authors propose to address these problems by establishing an independent, central statistical agency.