Government statistical agencies and the politics of credibility
Author(s)
Bibliographic Information
Government statistical agencies and the politics of credibility
（Cambridge studies in comparative public policy / general editors, M. Ramesh, Xun Wu, Michael Howlett）
Cambridge University Press, 2021
- : hardback
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Note
Includes bibliographical references (p. 219-227) and index
Description and Table of Contents
Description
Who decides how official statistics are produced? Do politicians have control or are key decisions left to statisticians in independent statistical agencies? Interviews with statisticians in Australia, Canada, Sweden, the UK and the USA were conducted to get insider perspectives on the nature of decision making in government statistical administration. While the popular adage suggests there are 'lies, damned lies and statistics', this research shows that official statistics in liberal democracies are far from mistruths; they are consistently insulated from direct political interference. Yet, a range of subtle pressures and tensions exist that governments and statisticians must manage. The power over statistics is distributed differently in different countries, and this book explains why. Differences in decision-making powers across countries are the result of shifting pressures politicians and statisticians face to be credible, and the different national contexts that provide distinctive institutional settings for the production of government numbers.
Table of Contents
- Introduction
- 1. Credibility and official statistics
- 2. Australia
- 3. Canada
- 4. Sweden
- 5. The United Kingdom
- 6. The United States of America
- 7. Conclusions
- Notes
- List of cited interviews by order of appearance
- References
- Index.
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