The world of official data and statistics: not yet dead!
Data and statistics; not yet dead
Recently, it has become popular to question the relevance of “statistics” to make sense of the evolving nature of today’s world. A recent article in the Guardian claimed that “rather than diffusing controversy and polarisation, it seems as if statistics are actually stoking them”. The credibility of “official statistics” on GDP, poverty or migration flows gets questioned as they seem to not be in line with what citizens experience in their daily lives. Nor do they seem able to capture how large parts of the population “feel” about societal developments.
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