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Nominations are invited for the annual Julius Shiskin Memorial Award for Economic Statistics. The award is given in recognition of unusually original and important contributions in the development of economic statistics or in the use of statistics in interpreting the economy. Contributions can be in statistical research, development of new statistical measures or statistical tools, use of economic statistics to analyze and interpret economic activity, management of statistical programs, or application of data production techniques. The award was established in 1980 by the Washington Statistical Society (WSS) and is now cosponsored by the WSS, the National Association for Business Economics, and the Business and Economics Statistics Section of the American Statistical Association (ASA). The 2015 award recipient was Brent Moulton, Associate Director for National Economic Accounts of the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA), for his leadership in implementing major innovations into the U.S. national accounts, international standards for national accounts, and expanded integration of U.S. statistical programs. He is also recognized for his work at the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) in developing innovations that improved the reliability of the Consumer Price Index (CPI).
The award is in memory of Julius Shiskin, who had a varied and remarkable public service career. At the time of his death in 1978, “Julie” was the Commissioner for BLS. Earlier, he served as the Chief Statistician at the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and the Chief Economic Statistician and Assistant Director of the Census Bureau. Throughout his career, he was known as an innovator. At Census, he was instrumental in developing an electronic computer method for seasonal adjustment. In 1961, he published Signals of Recession and Recovery, which laid the groundwork for the calculation of monthly economic indicators, and he developed the monthly Census report Business Conditions Digest to disseminate them to the public. In 1969, he was appointed Chief Statistician at OMB, where he developed the policies and procedures that govern the release of key economic indicators (Statistical Policy Directive Number 3) and originated a Social Indicators report. In 1973, he was selected to head BLS where he was instrumental in preserving the integrity and independence of BLS labor force data and directed the most comprehensive revision in the history of the CPI, which included a new CPI for all urban consumers.
Nominations for the 2016 award are now being accepted. Individuals and groups in the public or private sector from any country can be nominated. The award will be presented with an honorarium of $1,000 plus additional recognition from the sponsors.
For questions or more information, please contact Thomas Evans, Julius Shiskin Award Committee Secretary, by email at evans.thomas@bls.gov or call 202-691-6354.
Completed nominations must be received by March 31, 2016.