A SoDa Symposium: Modernizing Economic Statistics
Two Presentations with Q&A
Tuesday, March 10, 2026
12:00 pm – 1:00 pm (ONLINE)
Presentation 1:
Modernizing Economic Statistics
Abstract:
Traditional approaches to measuring economic activity are threatened by serious challenges, among others, declining survey response rates, a growing share of output in hard-to-measure sectors, and changes in the way that work is organized. At the same time, naturally occurring data that could be useful for improving the nation’s economic statistics—for example, retail scanner data, payroll provider records and online job postings records—are increasingly available in electronic form. Distinguished University Professor Katharine Abraham is the co-director of a new Economic Measurement Research Institute (EMRI) launched late last year with funding from the National Science Foundation to address these challenges and opportunities. EMRI’s mission is to bring academic researchers, data providers and statistical agency staff together to identify ways to modernize the nation’s economic statistics and to work towards putting the new methods that are identified into practice. Professor Abraham will talk about the EMRI and the future of the nation’s economic statistics.
Presented by:
Katharine G. Abraham
Distinguished University Professor, Department of Economics
Director, Joint Program in Survey Methodology
Professor, University of Maryland
Bio:
Katharine G. Abraham is a Distinguished University Professor and Professor of Economics and Survey Methodology. Her published research includes papers on discrepancies in alternative measures of employment, wages and hours; the measurement of economic activity; the work and retirement decisions of older Americans; how government policies affect employers’ choices concerning employment and hours over the business cycle; abd the effects of financial aid on the decision to attend college. She served as Commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics from 1993 through 2001 and as a Member of the President’s Council of Economic Advisers from 2011 through 2013. Abraham currently serves on standing academic advisory committees convened by the Congressional Budget Office, Bureau of Economic Analysis, and Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago. She is a Research Associate of the National Bureau of Economic Research and a Research Fellow of the IZA, a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, a Distinguished Fellow of the American Economic Association, and an elected Fellow of the American Statistical Association and of the Society of Labor Economists. Abraham received her Ph.D. in economics from Harvard University in 1982 and her B.S. in economics from Iowa State University in 1976.
Presentation 2:
Data for Impact at Coleridge
Abstract:
The measurement of economic activity is increasingly challenged by declining survey participation and limited resources, while policymakers require timely, local, and demographic-specific data that national-level aggregates often miss. Although federal statistics remain essential for tracking broad trends, they are frequently delayed and may not capture rapidly changing local conditions, making state-level data an increasingly important complement. Dr. Didem Tuzemen, Vice President of Research at Coleridge, leads partnerships with state governments to help them harness administrative data for timely, evidence-based policymaking. By building state capacity to use administrative data effectively, Coleridge transforms raw information into actionable insights, enabling faster responses to economic shocks, more targeted workforce and education strategies, and stronger, evidence-driven decisions that improve outcomes for workers, businesses, and communities alike. For example, during the COVID-19 pandemic, the unprecedented surge in unemployment insurance claims offered a unique opportunity to monitor economic disruptions in real time. In collaboration with the Illinois Department of Employment Security, Coleridge developed the Unemployment to Reemployment Portal using detailed information from unemployment insurance claims. This tool, designed specifically for the state practitioners’ needs is updated weekly and delivers locally relevant labor market information. By leveraging administrative records, the portal provides insights into critical questions: which local labor markets were hardest hit by layoffs, the broader economic impacts on communities, and the demographic, industry, and occupational profiles of displaced workers to guide targeted interventions.
Presented by:
Didem Tuzemen
Vice President of Product Development
Coleridge Initiative
Bio:
Dr. Didem Tuzemen is the Vice President of Product and Development at the Coleridge Initiative. In this role, she works with partners to develop research products and directs the Democratizing our Data Challenge program. Previously, she was a Senior Economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City. She also served as Executive Director of the Kansas City Federal Statistical Research Data Center.
Dr. Tuzemen holds a doctorate in economics from the University of Maryland College Park.
Moderator:
Frauke Kreuter
Professor, Joint Program in Survey Methodology
Director, Social Data Science Center (SoDa)
University of Maryland
Chair of Statistics and Data Science in Social Sciences and Humanities
Ludwig-Maximilian, University of Munich
