The government and the policy makers use the statistical data to formulate suitable policies of economic development. No analysis of a problem would be possible without the availability of data on various factors underlying an economic problem. For example if the government wants to make a policy to solve the problem of unemployment and poverty, reliable data are required for it. The number of persons who are waiting for a job, unemployed and semi employed persons, educated and illiterate persons, the number of people living below the poverty line, the related data may be required. If the government wants to remove poverty and disparity in income and wants to take appropriate action then proper reliable data are required. For example, if the government wants to help the people affected by Tsunami earthquakes, the bird flu dangers then data should be collected and put together about the disaster's cost systematically and correctly.
Modern economists now includes learning the basic skills involved in making useful studies for measuring poverty, how incomes are distributed, how earning opportunities are related to education, how environmental disasters affect our lives and so on.
