Morris Hansen lecture keynote speaker will discuss challenges in measuring income and poverty

WASHINGTON, Aug. 22, 2024 - The U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA's) National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) will host the 32nd Annual Morris Hansen Lecture on Thursday, Sept. 26, 2024, from 3:30 - 5:30 p.m. EDT at USDA's Jefferson Auditorium in the South Building located at 1400 Independence Ave. SW, Washington, D.C. A reception will follow from 5:30 - 6:30 p.m. EDT at USDA's Whitten Building, across Independence Avenue. The lecture is free and open to the public but registration is required.

This year's keynote speaker is Dr. Constance F. Citro, a senior scholar with the Committee on National Statistics (CNSTAT). The discussants will be Dr. Marina Gindelsky, a research economist for the Office of the Chief Economist at the Bureau of Economic Analysis, and Dr. Jonathan Rothbaum, a research economist in the Social, Economic, and Housing Statistics Division at the U.S. Census Bureau.

Income and poverty status are among the most important indicators of household economic well-being that the federal statistical system produces. Income is among the most difficult data to obtain by asking people directly. Citro's topic, "Challenges in Measuring Income and Poverty: Why Is It So Hard? Why Is It So Important?," will take a historical, organizational, and statistical perspective on income and poverty measurement in the United States.

Citro has directed numerous federal census and survey evaluations for CNSTAT, focusing on methodology for the decennial census and measuring poverty, income and program participation. She served as study director for the panel that produced "Measuring Poverty: A New Approach," which led to the Supplemental Poverty Measure. She has edited or co-edited multiple publications, including 2nd-7th editions of CNSTAT's flagship publication, "Principles and Practices for a Federal Statistical Agency," and the "Encyclopedia of the U.S. Census," 1st and 2nd editions. She is a fellow of the American Statistical Association and an elected member of the International Statistical Institute. She received her B.A. in political science from the University of Rochester and her M.A. and Ph.D. in political science from Yale University.

The Washington Statistical Society established this lecture series to pay tribute to Morris Hansen through a grant from Westat, Inc. The series honors his pioneering contributions to survey sampling and related statistical methods during his long and distinguished career at the U.S.

Census Bureau. The series is one of many public education and outreach activities in which USDA NASS participates. The event is sponsored by the Washington Statistical Society, USDA NASS and Westat, Inc. To register for this event and learn about past lectures, visit nass.usda.gov/Education_and_Outreach/Morris_Hansen/.

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NASS is the federal statistical agency responsible for producing official data about U.S. agriculture and is committed to providing timely, accurate and useful statistics in service to U.S. agriculture.

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