Author Archives: admin

Gerardo Serra, who is a PhD student in the Department of Economic History at the London School of Economics and does fascinating work on the political economy of statistics in Ghana and the Gold Coast reviews Poor Numbers for the … Continue reading →

On Monday I present at the Centre of African Studies, University of Cambridge (5 pm, Room S2, Audrey Richards Building) and then on Tuesday at Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex. On Wednesday there is a book launch and … Continue reading →

  Is there really a statistical tragedy in Africa?Where do African statistics originate? How accurate are they? Economic historian, Morten Jerven will be deliberating stats in Africa at a debate hosted by PARIS21 and the OECD Development Centre on Friday … Continue reading →

I spoke at Royal African Society yesterday, and the scheduled talks continues next week: Monday 13 May 17:00-19:00, Oxford University, African History & Politics Seminars Wednesday 15 May 12:15-14:00, Graduate Institute Geneva Thursday 16 May 14:00-17:00, CERI & SciencesPo, Paris … Continue reading →

Favourably and fairly I think.  Bill Gates says: Yet it is clear to me that we need to devote greater resources to getting basic GDP numbers right. As Jerven argues, national statistics offices across Africa need more support so that … Continue reading →

Poor Numbers: How We Are Misled by African Development Statistics and What to Do about It Date & Time: Wednesday, 8 May 2013, 6-8PM Venue: Brunei Suite, SOAS Speakers: Morten Jerven, Assistant Professor, Simon Fraser University. Respondent: Judith Randel, Executive Director of … Continue reading →

According to Nicolas van de Walle in Foreign Affairs Jerven demonstrates with devastating clarity that African governments produce imprecise economic statistics that should not be trusted. Read the full review here.

Ian Scoones reflects on my book in a two part analysis called: Dodgy data and missing measures: why good numbers matter. Read more here.

Carlos Lopez, the executive secretary of United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, seems to have read the right implications from my research in a blog post which starts: Counting matters! Statistics are the backbone of proper planning for Africa’s future… … Continue reading →