Mac prof honoured following a lifetime of crunching the numbers

A longtime McMaster economics professor has been recognized for his contribution towards the development and use of economics statistics in Canada.

Professor Byron Spencer was recently announced as the co-recipient of the Mike McCracken Award for Economic Statistics at the Canadian Economics Association’s annual conference. Michael Wolfson, a former assistant chief statistician at Statistics Canada and current Canada Research Chair in population health modeling/populomics, also received the award.

“The announcement came as a complete surprise, and I feel very honoured by the recognition that the award brings,” says Spencer. “Much of my time is spent looking for ways to make confidential survey and other data accessible to researchers so that it can be analyzed and inform public policy. I look forward to continuing those efforts.”

The Mike McCracken Award for Economic Statistics was established by the Canadian Economics Association (CEA) in 2010. The award recognizes both theoretical and applied contributions that have aided in the development or use of official economic statistics. The award is named after Mike McCracken, who, among other achievements, co-founded the Canadian-based economic research and information company Informetrica.

Spencer was nominated for the award by the University’s Department of Economics Chair, professor Jeremiah Hurley.

Hurley says that, in addition to being one of Canada’s leading population economists, Spencer has tirelessly promoted the establishment and use of Statistics Canada Research Data Centres (RDC) in Canada. These RDC’s provide researchers with secure access to confidential Statistic Canada master survey files. These survey files are longitudinal in nature, and have resulted in the expansion of the scope of empirical social science research in Canada.

“Working with researchers and officials from Statistics Canada, Byron has spearheaded a number of important initiatives that have increased access to, and use of, Statistics Canada data,” says Hurley. He added that Spencer has also served as the first and only chair of the executive committee of the national RDC network. “Byron’s commitment to this work emanates from the conviction that such government data are a public good.”

In addition to founding McMaster’s RDC, Spencer has also been a faculty member at the University since 1966, and is the co-author (along with colleague Frank Denton) of several seminal research papers focusing on aging populations.