visweek: graphics and infographics
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Slides from my recent talk at the Visweek conference in Seattle, WA.TRANSCRIPT
Graphics, Infographics, and Data Visualization: An Economist’s Call for Better Visuals
Jonathan A. SchwabishCongressional Budget Office
[email protected]@jschwabish
October 2012
The views expressed in this presentation are those of the author and should not be interpreted as those of the Congressional Budget Office.
Graphics produced by economists, policy and budget analysts, government agencies… can be better
Social Security Administration
Klerman and Danielson, Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, 2011
Social Security Administration
Government Accountability Office
Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City
Bailey, American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, 2012
Chinn 2011, LaFollette School WP No. 2012-006
Sala, Soderstrom, and Trigara, NBER WP No. 18434, 2012
Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta
Bureau of Economic Analysis
U.S. Census Bureau
Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis
U.S. Department of the Treasury
Hanson, Journal of Economic Perspectives, Spring 2012
U.S. Department of Agriculture
Gokhale, Social Security: A Fresh Look at Policy Alternatives, 2010
Social Security Advisory Board
Modrek and Cullen, 14th Annual Joint Conference of the Retirement Research Consortium
Sum = 98% Sum = 100%Social Security
Administration
Holden and Fontes, Journal of Women, Politics, & Policy, 2009
Focus
Expertise
Knowledge
•Member of CongressWants to get specific information on a topic,
a broad overview, quick facts, or bullet points.
• Congressional Staffer Wants to get data quickly. Might be briefing Member on topics outside usual areas of responsibility.
CBO’s Infographic Demographic
Understanding the Fiscal Cliff
10 pages75 pages
The purpose of visualization is insight, not pictures
-Card, Mackinlay and Shneiderman (1999)
Data VisualizationGovernment
Agencies