The serious trouble of sample selection bias

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

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.