Bad Data: How Governments, Politicians and the Rest of Us Get Misled by Numbers

Georgina Sturge

ISBN 10: 0349128618 / ISBN 13: 9780349128610

Published by The Bridge Street Press 03 N, 2022

About this Item

Bad Data: How Governments, Politicians and the Rest of Us Get Misled by Numbers This book is in very good condition and will be shipped within 24 hours of ordering. The cover may have some limited signs of wear but the pages are clean, intact and the spine remains undamaged. This book has clearly been well maintained and looked after thus far. Money back guarantee if you are not satisfied. See all our books here, order more than 1 book and get discounted shipping. .

Seller Inventory # 7719-9780349128610

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Bad Data: How Governments, Politicians and the Rest of Us Get Misled by Numbers
• Publisher: The Bridge Street Press 03 N
• Publication Date: 2022
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0349128618
• ISBN 13: 9780349128610
• Binding: Hardcover
• Condition: Very Good

About this title

Synopsis

‘Essential reading … An incisive and urgently needed book’ Tim Harford

‘[An] entertaining introduction to the uses (and misuses) of data … a penetrating analysis of why statistical literacy matters to our politics and our daily lives’ Professor Jonathan Portes


Our politicians make vital decisions and declarations every day that rely on official data. But should all statistics be trusted?

In BAD DATA, House of Commons Library statistician Georgina Sturge draws back the curtain on how governments of the past and present have been led astray by figures littered with inconsistency, guesswork and uncertainty.

Discover how a Hungarian businessman’s bright idea caused half a million people to go missing from UK migration statistics. Find out why it’s possible for two politicians to disagree over whether poverty has gone up or down, using the same official numbers, and for both to be right at the same time. And hear about how policies like ID cards, super-casinos and stopping ex-convicts from reoffending failed to live up to their promise because they were based on shaky data.

With stories that range from the troubling to the empowering to the downright absurd, BAD DATA reveals secrets from the usually closed-off world of policy-making. It also suggests how – once we understand the human story behind the numbers – we can make more informed choices about who to trust, and when.