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Can national statistics be self-fulfilling?
- ableal 15y agoDouble quote: In a strange way, Britain’s ONS, and similar agencies like the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) and Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) in the United States, hold the fate of politicians in their hands because they help write the political narrative. It is only a slight exaggeration to say BEA is one of the most powerful agencies in the U.S. government. It may not have as many tanks as the Pentagon, but by measuring the success and failure of economic policies, it can make and break presidencies, as President George H W Bush could confirm and Barack Obama fears. Well turned phrase there, "may not have as many tanks as" ...