About this episode
The episode discusses the complexities and frustrations of working with government data, particularly in relation to international students entering the US workforce.
Government data often underpins policy debates. Nevertheless, those who work with it will know how uniquely frustrating it can be. Relative to the private sector, government systems collect data in idiosyncratic ways. They prioritize continuity and legality over ease-of-use, in anticipation of a narrow set of users. As a result, these datasets can feel impenetrable. In October 2024, I was trying to understand how international students enter the US workforce: where they move for work, how many of them use programs like Optional Practical Training, and whether they stay in the US after graduating. So, I opened up a dataset from the Department of Homeland Security’s Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS). Today this data is available on the OPT Observatory ; it’s the most granular public resource available to answer these questions. But it took me over a year to produce. The process of getting there taught me as much about government data as it did anything else. For the full transcript of this conversation, go to www.statecraft.pub . This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit…
People in this episode
Host: Santi Ruiz
Topics covered
- government data
- policy debates
- international students
- US workforce
- data accessibility
Keywords
- government data
- policy
- international students
- workforce
- data analysis
- SEVIS
- OPT
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Department of Homeland Security, Student and Exchange Visitor Information System, OPT Observatory
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