In Iraq, estimates of the death count since the war started 2003 range from 100,000 to about one million. Tim Harford explores why such a range exists and what methods are used to count those killed during war. Meanwhile he discovers that Iraq's population has been growing strongly over the same period. Plus, mathematician and comedian Matt Parker presents his guide to the imperial measurement system. This programme was first broadcast on the BBC World Service.
Cato Daily Podcast - When Incentives Work against Quality Healthcare
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More or Less: Behind the Stats - The week that kills
Most deaths occur in this week of the year - Tim Harford asks why. He also asks: are there really two million millionaire pensioners in the UK, and how many people have died in Iraq since 2003? Plus, mathematician and comedian, Matt Parker, apologises for his previous apology.
Cato Daily Podcast - Imperfect Markets versus Imperfect Interventions
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Cato Daily Podcast - ‘Fast Track’ Authority’s Dubious Record
Stay Off the Fast Track: Why Trade Promotion Authority Is Wrong for the Trans-Pacific Partnership, Free Trade Bulletin No. 56, December 19, 2013.
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Cato Daily Podcast - ObamaCare Could Spike Use of Emergency Rooms
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Cato Daily Podcast - Reining in ‘Special Taxing Districts’
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More or Less: Behind the Stats - WS MoreOrLess: The numbers of 2013 – part 2
A guide to 2013 in numbers - the most informative, interesting and idiosyncratic statistics of the year discussed by More or Less interviewees. Contributors: Dr Pippa Malmgren, President and founder of Principalis Asset Management; Merryn Somerset-Webb, Editor in Chief of MoneyWeek; Helen Arney, Comedian and Presenter. Producer: Ben Carter. This programme was first broadcast on the BBC World Service.
More or Less: Behind the Stats - Pension Charges
When the government announced that fees charged by pension providers could be capped, some listeners were sceptical that the benefits could be as great as was being claimed. Tim Harford and Money Box presenter Paul Lewis explain why the numbers do add up. It's claimed that an average of 100,000 Christians die as martyrs every year; Ruth Alexander and Tim Harford fact-check the widely-quoted statistic. Plus, Number Hub mathematician Matt Parker presents his guide to imperial measures; is Britain's railway really Europe's 'most improved'? And when six cyclists died in just two weeks in London, was that a cluster in a random distribution, or a sign that something is systematically wrong with road safety in the capital?
More or Less: Behind the Stats - WS MoreOrLess: The numbers of 2013 – part 1
A guide to 2013 in numbers - the most informative, interesting and idiosyncratic statistics of the year discussed by More or Less interviewees. Contributors: David Spiegelhalter, Professor for the Public Understanding of Risk at Cambridge University; Linda Yueh, BBC Chief Business Correspondent; Simon Singh, author of The Simpsons and Their Mathematical Secrets. Producer: Ben Carter. This programme was first broadcast on the BBC World Service.