Discussion forum: The census depository library program
Abstract Of the various depository library programs, the one administered by the Government Printing Office (GPO) is undoubtedly the best known and most frequently mentioned in the literature. Federal legislation and the Office of Management and Budget's Circular A-130 recognize this program as the premier depository program in the United States in providing public access to government publications.1 However, other programs exist (e.g., those of the Geological Survey, Bureau of the Census, and Patent and Trademark Office), and attempts to restructure the GPO's program frequently fail to consider these other depository programs. Perhaps one of the least discussed programs in the literature is the one operated by the Bureau of the Census. The purpose of this essay is to examine the role and importance of the census depository program and to encourage further investigation of non-GPO programs. The insights reported here were gathered from interviews conducted at the Bureau of the Census, an examination of the published literature, and an analysis of the libraries currently participating in the depository program.
Information distribution practices of federal statistical agencies: The census bureau example
Abstract U.S. government agencies collect statistical data either under a Constitutional mandate (as in the case of the decennial census) or by legislative mandate or administrative decree. The preeminent example is the Bureau of the Census which, for the 1990 decennial census, collected and distributed some 50 gigabytes (the equivalent of over 100 CD-ROMs) of data, if digitized map boundaries are included. Some major agencies producing public statistics include the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Social Security Administration, Bureau of Economic Analysis, Energy Information Administration, Departments of Education and Agriculture, and National Center for Health Statistics. The pricing and distribution practices of these agencies vary widely, with some agencies encouraging widespread distribution of data and others looking on distribution to the public as not within their mandate. This article elucidates issues of reasonable distribution policies and adaptation to technological change of such agencies by focusing on the distribution activities, both currently and historically, of the Bureau of the Census.
Did the metamorphosis from Export Processing Zones to Special Economic Zones improve the efficiency of trade enclaves in India?
In this paper, the efficiency of seven conventional Special Economic Zones in India is analyzed, by adopting a stochastic production frontier technique, for the period between 1986–1987 and 2007–2008.Results indicate that although the efficiency scores of these enclaves have improved over the years, specifically with the introduction of the SEZ policy (2000–2001), it is far below the threshold level as identified in the literature. Besides, one can also observe a discrepancy emerging between better export earning zones and efficient zones. On the determinants side, policy intervention and large geographical area, accompanied by clustering of units, are found to have impacted the efficiency scores of these enclaves positively.