Main content

08/04/2011

Tim Harford and the team look at more numbers in the news.

Youth unemployment

We are frequently told that young people have never had it so bad. They can't get on the housing ladder and it's increasingly difficult to get a job. New unemployment statistics will be published next week. But will they tell the whole story?

Trumptonshire's deficit

Should the Government cut spending and raise taxes in order to cut the deficit or will doing so be counterproductive? It is, of course, the question of the moment. It's a debate about what economists call the "fiscal multiplier". But what is a fiscal multiplier? And can we measure it? Let's take an example: Trumptonshire.

Social immobility?

A shocking graph showing how the education system allows untalented rich kids to overtake talented poor kids was used by the Government this week to demonstrate Britain's lack of social mobility. But some argue the graph is distorted by one of the oldest statistical problems of all.

Producer: Richard Knight.

Available now

30 minutes

Last on

Sun 10 Apr 2011 20:00

Broadcasts

  • Fri 8 Apr 2011 13:30
  • Sun 10 Apr 2011 20:00

Just how reliable is our intuition? Find out with The Open University

OU Connect: Put your brain to the test with our new mind-bending probability problems!

When can you trust statistics?

When can you trust statistics?

Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Ideas discovers three easy ways to help make sense of statistics.

Download this programme

Download this programme

Subscribe to the More or Less Podcast or download individual episodes.