The serious trouble of sample selection bias

Stephen Gordon expands on his concerns about government changes to the census.

The implications are more wide-ranging than you might think. According to popular cliché, we are evolving towards a ‘knowledge economy’ – and knowledge requires data.  And the usefulness of much of these data depends crucially on the anchor of a reliable census.

Genealogists, economists, academics and Canada’s former chief statistician, as well as the editorial boards of the Toronto Star, Montreal Gazette, Edmonton Journal and Victoria Times-Colonist, are equally concerned. But at least one libertarian is pleased.