Melissa Gentry

August 1, 2025 AMERICAN ECONOMIC ASSOCIATION Committee on Economic Statistics and Committee on Government Relations Statement from the American Economic Association on the Dismissal of the BLS Commissioner Leaders of the American Economic Association express their grave concern over the dismissal of the Commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) earlier today. The independence of the federal statistical agencies is essential to the proper functioning of a modern economy. Accurate, timely, and impartial statistics are the foundation upon which households, businesses, and policymakers make critical decisions. Undermining the independence or credibility of these agencies threatens the integrity of the information that markets, institutions, and the public rely on every day. Measuring the vast and dynamic U.S. economy in real time is inherently challenging. It is standard practice for statistical estimates to be revised as more complete and higher-quality data become available. These revisions reflect the commitment of statistical agencies to accuracy, transparency, and methodological rigor-not failure or bias. The BLS has long had a well-deserved reputation for professional excellence and nonpartisan integrity. Safeguarding this tradition is vital for the continued health of the U.S. economy and public trust in our institutions. We call upon elected officials to respect and preserve the independence of the nation's statistical infrastructure. Lawrence Katz President, American Economic Association Katharine Abraham President-Elect, American Economic Association Karen Dynan Chair, American Economic Association Committee on Economic Statistics Kenneth Troske Chair, American Economic Association Committee on Government Relations

Statement from the largest economics association about the BLS firing

As context: AEA approximately never makes such public statements

This is a big deal

Spending this anniversary of the ADA watching PBS’s “Change Not Charity” as a way to remind me how far we’ve come - and how far we still have to go!

useful_data_resources

FYI: I've updated my list of Useful Data Resources, primarily with a bunch of (20-ish?) new links to state-specific public school datasets and data repositories.

go.illinois.edu/UsefulDataRe...

Suggestions/corrections are always welcome.

As the ADA turns 35, groups fighting for disability rights could see their federal dollars slashed Medicaid applicants often had a difficult time working through its rules even before the tax and budget law's recent changes.

As the ADA turns 35, groups fighting for disability rights could see their federal dollars slashed

The ADA wasn’t a gift – it was the result of relentless advocacy. From the Capitol Crawl to courtroom battles, disabled activists made this moment possible.

I feel incredibly fortunate to have been in the final cohort of fellows in the RDRC. While we may not have the center anymore, the work and community continues on.

A chart showing the proportion of disabled workers who have very flexible working available to them (left) and partially flexible work available to them (right), by selected demographics: UK, 2018- 2019 and 2020-2021

Disabled people's access to flexible work is not evenly spread.

For more about employment access for disabled people, read 'Opening Doors' ⤵️ : buff.ly/d9KvJpj

YouTube video by NBER Economics of Social Security, NBER Summer Institute

If you're not in town, check it out (and a great program all day) live or delayed on youtube:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=4fu-...

If you're in town for #NBER Summer Institute come check out my talk on the impacts of staffing cuts at the Social Security Administration, 3:30pm in the Skyline room

Figure 1 shows Disability Rates in the US States and Puerto Rico, with the percentage of residents living with disabilities by county.

Rural communities in the US are home to a significant population of people with disabilities, yet #data on their experiences remain limited. New #research outlines the need for data to drive effective rural policy & shares recommendations for advancing rural #disability data. urbn.is/RuralDisabil...

How does unreliable urban transport disproportionately limit women’s access to higher education—and can infrastructure fixes close the gap? @falbav.bsky.social , @wakeforest.bsky.social , discusses: faculti.net/transport-ba...
#economics

I love research that debunks myths. #econsky

TLDR: Unemployment Insurance may delay re-entry into the labor market, but it helps low income workers find better jobs.

The Disability Pride Flag is a charcoal grey flag bisected diagonally from the top left corner to the lower right corner by five parallel stripes in red, pale gold, pale grey, light blue, and green.

July is Disability Pride Month
🩶❤️💛🤍💚💙🩶

Happy #DisabilityPrideMonth to everyone with visible and invisible disabilities. To everyone who cares for someone with a disability, and to everyone who is gonna learn about disability pride this month.

Disability Pride is a fight and a celebration⭐

Whether visible or invisible, permanent or temporary, almost all of us will have or know someone with a disability.

As Mayor, I’ll fight like hell for truly accessible public transit.

NEW: We submitted a public comment opposing the Department of Energy's attempt to eliminate long-established requirements that DOE buildings be accessible to people with disabilities.

This proposal is a violation of federal disability protections.

The Department of Energy is calling accessibility requirements for new construction “unnecessary and unduly burdensome.”
This is the same type of language that held up the original enforcement of Section 504 protections but the courts have already settled this.

Effort To Roll Back Federal Disability Rights Protections Alarms Advocates The Trump administration is quietly working to fast-track changes to a key disability rights law by circumventing typical procedures, advocates are warning.

This article talks through some of it! My read is that *at the moment* this would eliminate accessibility requirements for orgs getting funding JUST from DOE. People are concerned, however, that this may just be the first in a longer line of dominoes.
www.disabilityscoop.com/2025/06/09/e...

As a reminder - accessibility is for EVERYONE, regardless of disability status!

Disability Policy Friends: I haven't seen too many posts about this so I want to make sure people are aware.
The Department of Energy is attempting to roll back certain Section 504 protections and will do so unless they receive "significant adverse comments" by June 16th.

Once again, I find myself thinking of the press release announcing that the Social Security Administration was unilaterally cancelling funding for all Retirement and Disability Research Consortia.

It called the centers “wasteful initiatives.” All of them had a combined cost of about $15 million.

Almost one-half of families with children in poverty who are not working contain an adult with a disability or limiting health condition.

Read more in our recent research on child poverty ⤵️ buff.ly/hbdiilh

My projects, and many others’, cannot happen without access to federal restricted data and we gain SO much as a society from policies driven by research using rich administrative data.

I was so excited to start working on my projects in the RDC this January - only to quickly worry they would be shuttered due to DEIA concerns (since they’re all related to disability in the US).

EXTREMELY BAD NEWS for economic research, per former BLS Commissioner @ericagroshen.bsky.social on LinkedIn.

BLS is suspending access to its restricted data "for the forseeable future." Applies to projects through the Federal Statistical Research Data Centers & onsite projects with BLS.
#EconSky

As someone working on a project that uses Census data related to internet access, let me just say “yikes”

Weighing Risks: How Families of Disabled Children Made School Choices During the Pandemic In this paper, we show how positionality shapes caregivers’ decisions about children’s schooling, by expanding on research on Black families’ educational decision-making (Cooper, 2025; Posey-Maddox et...

New paper with @alexfreidus.bsky.social l + @ericaoturner.bsky.social : “Weighing Risks:
How Families of Disabled Children Made School Choices During the Pandemic.” edworkingpapers.com/ai25-1171 (1/4)

Just got my first ever solo-authored R&R! 🎉

That’s a wrap on TEAMS 2025!
Huge thanks to our presenters, attendees (including those not pictured here), faculty mentors and to everyone who made today a success - until next year!

Closing out the day with Health & IO 💊🚕
Topics included Medicaid drug lists, taxi driver learning, physician bargaining, and production networks.
Thanks to James Ryan, Kai Wu, Nathan Wise, and Mu Yang Shin for a strong finish!

The afternoon continued with a session on Environment & Elections 🌱🗳️
We heard about gender gaps in politics, water quality trading, fracking, rent-seeking, and green energy in China.
Great work by Neil Duzett, Eduardo Barrueto, Shuting Zhang, Yoojin Cha, and KT Cho.