Data on Small Business--Much is Collected but it Should be Integrated for Better Use.

Abstract

Virtually all officials we met with at Federal data gathering agencies and the Small Business Administration recognized the need for a small business data base. In our opinion, data gathering, analysis, and dissemination is a valid and important role for the Federal Government. Unquestionably, a wealth of information exists and is routinely gathered, but is not fully used due to legal and technical problems. The issues of confidentiality and access are being addressed through pending legislative proposals. We believe legislation will be needed to make federally collected data on small businesses more useful for policy analysis while ensuring confidentiality. The technical problems associated with coverage, comparability, errors, and timing are well recognized among the data gathering agencies, SBA, the Office of Federal Statistical Policy and Standards, and OMB. While many of the problems can be overcome, agencies are constrained by limited resources. (Author)

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jul 16, 1981
Accession Number
ADA106851

Entities

Organizations

  • United States Government Accountability Office

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Biomedical

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Accounting
  • Accuracy
  • Business Administration
  • Commerce
  • Congress
  • Databases
  • Economic Policy
  • Employment
  • Governments
  • Interagency Coordination
  • Law
  • National Governments
  • Small Business
  • Social Security
  • Standards
  • United States
  • United States Government

Readers

  • Criminal Law
  • Government Contracting/Procurement.
  • Systems Analysis and Design