become more familiar with the new data. Also,
Toward a Health Care
because of the differences introduced in 2008, there
Satellite Account
will be no disability data in the 2006–2008 three-
Ana Aizcorbe, BEA chief economist, noted that
year ACS data products. The first five-year data will
BEA does not gather data the way the U.S. Census
be those reflecting data collected in 2008–2012.
Bureau does, but is engaged in an accounting or
Changes to other ACS topics include employ-
measurement of expenditures and other economic
ment, relationship, educational attainment, year of
activities. BEA conducts research on their mea-
naturalization, and food stamp amounts. The ances-
sures—health care is an area of recent focus. The
try tables will look the same, but the data will be dif-
goal is to improve measures of health care in the
ferent due to the correction of processing errors. For
national accounts. Aizcorbe explained some of the
example, it was found that the inclusion of Irish-
challenges associated with this goal.
Scotch with Scotch-Irish is incorrect. Some tables
One challenge is how to best measure the services
will reflect new industry codes, and there will be
provided by the health care sector and the extent
two new tables for multigenerational households.
to which health care expenditures are increasing
Boggess pointed out that there also might be dis-
or decreasing. To illustrate the challenge—and
continuities in employment estimates due to chang-
the ways of looking at health care expenditures—
es in the questions to make them more comparable
Aizcorbe used the example of depression. The typi-
with those on the Current Population Survey (CPS).
cal Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) approach would
If the new questions provide data more consistent
be to measure expenditures for specific services or
with the CPS, the bureau will likely expand the
treatments, while health economists tend to focus
number of ACS employment tables provided.
on expenditures by disease. In the case of depres-
Despite all the changes, Boggess noted that the
sion, treatment was once limited primarily to the
2008 changes are actually small compared to previ-
costly option of “talk therapy,” but when drug ther-
ous years, but he said we can expect more changes
apy became an option, people tended to substitute
next year with the expansion of the disability, health
that less-expensive option. Thus, from the perspec-
insurance, employment, and group quarters data
tive of spending by treatment, the cost of treating
product packages. There also will be the addition
depression has increased (i.e., the cost of talk therapy
of race-iterated data for disability, health insurance,
has increased), but from the “treatment of disease”
marital history, and a new topic: field of degree.
Quality and Productivity Section
Web-Based Training Series
Prediction for Production and the Arts of Charts
Presented by J. Stuart Hunter of Princeton University
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
The Shewhart chart for variables data assumes a fixed mean, variance, and stochastic independence and moni-
tors a process for departures from these assumptions (i.e., y-bar and R charts, the Western Electric rules). Most
data sequentially recorded do not obey these assumptions. We often find the mean is in motion, the variance
unstable, and adjacent observations not independent.
This webinar will discuss the exponentially weighted moving average (EWMA) as a graphical tool to be used
simultaneously with the Shewhart chart when the assumptions are relaxed. Using the EWMA as a forecast, we
find that real-time process control is possible using simple graphical tools. Further, we will find that the EWMA
is only one of the autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) times series models. Other models drawn
from the ARIMA group also can be used for process monitoring and control. The contributions of George Box
and coworkers will be referenced throughout the webinar.
For more information and to register, visit
www.amstat.org/sections/qp/webinar.cfm.
16 AmstAt News AUGUST 2009
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76