This project systematically examines Census 2000 data in an attempt to learn about the counter effects of the major mobilization effort undertaken by the U.S. Census Bureau and a public privacy debate that erupted during the Census taking in 2000. The project is in the finishing stages, resulting in a book supported by The Russell Sage Foundation and co-authored by Kenneth Prewitt (the immediate past director of the Census Bureau), Norman Nie, Sunshine Hillygus (Assistant Professor at Harvard University and a former SIQSS research assistant), and Heili Pals (SIQSS research assistant).
The book focuses on the three major issues: the effect of the mobilization campaign on Census mailback, the comparative effect of privacy debate on Census mailback, and, finally, the impact of changing family structures on Census taking. The book combines rigorous data analysis with a more general discussion of past and present issues connected to Census taking in the U.S.
This research was supported by a consortium of private foundations including The Russell Sage Foundation, The Ford Foundation, The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, The Annie E. Casey Foundation, The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, The Carnegie Corporation of New York. The data collection project was directed by Profs. Norman Nie and Jane Junn.
Citation:
D. Sunshine Hillygus, Norman H. Nie, Kenneth Prewitt, and Heili Pals. Forthcoming. "THe Hard Count: The Political and Social Challenges of Census Mobilization." Russell Sage Foundation.
AUTHORS
D. Sunshine Hillygus
Assistant Professor of Government, Harvard University
Norman H. Nie
Director of the Stanford Institute for the Quantitative Study of Society and Research Professor of Political Science, Stanford University
Kenneth Prewitt
Carnegie Professor of Public Affairs, Columbia University
Heili Pals
PhD candidate in the Sociology Department, Stanford University
