How Numbers Rule the World: The Use and Abuse of Statistics in Global Politics

281 Pages·2014·1.68 MB·English

by  Lorenzo Fioramonti

economic controversies
Innovative and thought-provoking, the Economic Controversies
series strips back the often impenetrable facade of economic
jargon to present bold new ways of looking at pressing issues,
while explaining the hidden mechanics behind them. Concise
and accessible, the books bring a fresh, unorthodox approach to
a variety of controversial subjects.
Also available in the Economic Controversies series:
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Future of the World Economy
Robert R. Locke and J.-C. Spender, Confronting Managerialism:
How the Business Elite and Their Schools Threw Our Lives
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Lorenzo Fioramonti, Gross Domestic Problem: The Politics Behind
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Global New Deal
Richard Javad Heydarian, How Capitalism Failed the Arab World:
The Economic Roots and Precarious Future of the Middle East
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about the author
Lorenzo Fioramonti (@globalreboot) is Associate Professor
and Jean Monnet Chair in Regional Integration and Governance
Studies at the University of Pretoria (South Africa), where he
directs the Centre for the Study of Governance Innovation. He
is also Senior Fellow at the Centre for Social Investment of the
University of Heidelberg and at the Hertie School of Govern-
ance, Germany, as well as Associate Fellow at the United Nations
University. He is the author of several books about development
policies, global and regional governance, alternative economies
and social progress indicators, including Gross Domestic Problem:
The Politics Behind the World’s Most Powerful Number (Zed
Books, 2013). He blogs at www.globalreboot.org.
How NUMBERS RULE tHE woRLD
the Use and Abuse of Statistics in Global Politics
lorenzo fioramonti
Zed Books
london | new york
How Numbers Rule the World: The Use and Abuse
of Statistics in Global Politics was first published in 2014 by
Zed Books Ltd, 7 Cynthia Street, London n1 9jf, uk and
Room 400, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, ny 10010, usa
www.zedbooks.co.uk
Copyright © Lorenzo Fioramonti 2014
the right of Lorenzo Fioramonti to be identified as the
author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance
with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988
Designed and typeset in Monotype Bulmer
by illuminati, Grosmont
Index by John Barker
Cover design: www.roguefour.co.uk
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be
reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any
form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying or
otherwise, without the prior permission of Zed Books Ltd.
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data available
isbn 978 1 78032 269 8
Contents
acknowledgements vi
introduction the politics of statistics 1
chapter 1 the power of numbers 10
chapter 2 New global rulers: the untameable
power of credit rating 39
chapter 3 Fiddling while the planet burns:
the marketization of climate change 68
chapter 4 Measuring the unmeasurable:
the financialization of nature 104
chapter 5 Numbers for good? the quest for
aid effectiveness and social impact 144
conclusion Rethinking numbers, rethinking
governance 192
notes 214
bibliography 246
index 261
Acknowledgements
After the publication of Gross Domestic Problem: The Politics
Behind the World’s Most Powerful Number I received a number of
invitations to discuss the book throughout the world. I set out on
a journey on which I encountered wonderful people: academics,
journalists, radio hosts, activists and concerned citizens, who are
committed to profound, sustainable and radical change. they
asked questions, were keen to challenge conventional wisdom
and were looking for new ideas to inform their work. So, my first
thanks go to them, as they were a profound source of inspiration.
with Georg Mildenberger and Ekkehard thümler of the
Centre for Social Investment at the University of Heidelberg,
I have reflected a lot on the role of civil society and markets in
governance, while Maxi Schoeman, Mzukisi Qobo and Camilla
Adelle at the University of Pretoria accompanied me in the intel-
lectual journey that has culminated in the establishment of the
Centre for the Study of Governance Innovation, where most of
the topics you find in this book have finally found a research
home. I would also like to thank various colleagues with whom I
share concerns regarding issues that range from measurement of
economic performance to sustainability and market dominance,
acknowledgements vii
in particular Saamah Abdallah and tony Greenham at the New
Economics Foundation; Lew Daly, who leads the sustainable pro-
gress initiative at Demos; Claudius Van wyk of transformation
Strategies; Mark Swilling, director of the Sustainability Institute
at Stellenbosch University; Patrick Bond of the Centre for Civil
Society at the University of KwaZulu–Natal; and Sidney Luckett.
Because of her commitment, friendship and intellectual guidance,
I owe a lot to Susan George.
Ken Barlow, my editor at Zed Books, convinced me to finish
this book in record time, as he believed that it would be a perfect
complement to Gross Domestic Problem. He patiently reviewed
the manuscript, corrected a number of mistakes and helped me
improve the readability of the text, despite the complexity of the
theme. My wife Janine has been a constant companion and an
attentive reader of the manuscript. No offence to my colleagues,
but she is the best intellect I know.
Finally I would like to thank my students, who have engaged
me in fruitful and often challenging conversations, making me
realize how important it is to teach with passion. they are full
of ideas, but conventional teaching approaches tend to suppress
their energy. I hope this book, like the previous ones, will further
stimulate their free-thinking.
Needless to say, any flaws you find in the volume are mine
alone.
To my children and to the world in which they will grow up
introduction
the politics of statistics
we make constant use of formulas, symbols, and rules whose
meaning we do not understand, [which] have in turn become
the foundation of the civilization we have built up.
F.A. Hayek, The Use of Knowledge in Society, 1945
the most important things cannot be measured.
w. E. Deming
In the romantic slapstick comedy She’s Out of My League, the pro-
tagonist asks himself: ‘How can a 10 go for a 5?’ the plot revolves
around a love story between an ordinary airport security guy
named Kirk and Molly, a beautiful lawyer-turned-event planner.
on a scale of attractiveness, she is a ‘hard’ 10 (gorgeous, smart
and rich) and he is just a 5 (below average, skinny, working-class
young man). Although Kirk is in love with Molly, and she is
visibly interested in him, they act awkwardly as all odds appear
stacked against them: a 10 can perhaps go with an 8 – as Kirk’s
friends explain – and a 5 might manage to reach a 7, but there is
no way it can possibly work out between a 5 and a 10. Mathemat-
ics is no opinion: the distance is just too wide. the numbers’
rule is clear. All side characters (Kirk’s and Molly’s families,